Lost in Time
by emptyvoices
Summary: A story about a girl from our universe crossing over to the Dr. Who universe but with untold consequences. She is pulled into a dimension of insanity where fiction comes to life in frightening ways and wants to find her way back to the real world that she knew. She becomes tangled up in a mystery for the 10th doctor to discover on his journey. Will she find her way back home?
1. Lost

**Author's Note: I am posting revisions currently to my work as necessary to make this a more accurate telling to the canon.**

"It just figures that today the Underground would be on strike." Jessica threw the map of the tube station back into her carry on bag. Sara rubbed her forehead and sighed in agreement.

They had flew in just yesterday to Heathrow Airport and, being as jet lagged as they were, had resigned themselves to a four hour nap followed by a dinner of fish and chips in a nearby pub. Despite England's reputation for having originated the dish, Sara had found the meal rather unappetizing. To her, in that particular pub, it was tasteless. _I need to get a better recommendation. _

The next morning, upon asking the concierge of the hotel for directions to the nearest Underground station, they were informed that the tube workers went on a planned strike that would last for the full day.

They were advised to use the red double decker buses as a means to reach the Tower. Upon looking outside, the task seemed daunting. The road was virtually gridlocked. Sara was starting to lose her determination. She ran her hand through her damp brown hair and looked at the overcast sky with a frown. It was already starting to drizzle.

Sara pondered their options, wondering what choice they actually had. Spend a day inside the hotel? That would be an extravagant waste of a day spent in a considerably tiny room. Jessica would have no patience for that. Vacation days were hard to come by, and the money had been a college graduation gift from her family. She had interned throughout college and was fortunate enough to be offered a staff position when she achieved her degree, so her parents' reward was forced to wait for a year, so she could accrue enough time off. She kept telling herself, it was worth it; earning some seniority before taking any leisure time. Now she had her public relations degree and some security. It was, indeed, a good feeling to have that form of independence and freedom. The sensation of having a place that was her own was nearly euphoric. She was out of her parent's financial confinement, living freely, making her own choices.

Although, this trip was one she had long looked forward to, a year had passed since she had seen her best friend, who had been on deployment for nine months in Iraq, and their conversation had been awkward. Sara was uncertain how the duration of time in a country of conflict would affect Jessica. It had been painful; the many nights Sara had spent hoping that Jessica would return unharmed. She could certainly imagine the worst. Within her community, a boy lost his life in a convoy truck that ran over a mine and, therefore, exploded. The whole town entered a state of perpetual mourning. He had even gone to the same high school with her, although she couldn't say she had known him well, but the thought of a similar event happening to Jessica was enough to instill fear in Sara night after night.

She swallowed a lump in her throat at the thought. _It's over now. _

"You okay?" Jessica asked, glancing at her worriedly as they crossed the street.

Sara nodded, blinking rapidly as she shuttled the memory to the depths of her mind. "Yep, no problem. Just annoyed," she sighed. "Maybe the strikers saw us coming."

"That would be a change," Jessica gestured towards the buses. "Oh well, it will be an adventure anyway."

Sara smiled, "Sure, but you know, it's going to take us more than an hour to get there with this mess."

"You're right. I need coffee, _lots_ of coffee. You want any?"

"Jess, you know I don't drink that stuff," Sara's nose wrinkled slightly, making her friend snicker.

Jessica laughed, "Oh yeah, you really should have been born here. You _are_ a tea drinker, through and through."

"Not always," Sara dismissed before glancing at her watch. "Better hurry, the tower is only open for six hours today."

It turned out Sara was wrong. It took nearly two hours to get to the tower with the bus moving at a crawl. When they were dropped off a quarter mile away from their destination, they were forced to walk the rest of the way. Considering the speed of which they had been walking, Sara wondered whether they might have made better time on foot then by bus. Still, the Tower was something she considered to be the highlight of their trip.

It had been worth every moment of the journey. Sara was enraptured by British history and hearing the many stories from the Beefeater was both informative and comical. When he recited the story of Anne Boleyn, he turned to her and took her hand in parody mimic of Henry VIII, "I promise to love you for the rest of... your life." The audience burst out laughing in response to the gallows humor.

After the tour, they spent time wandering through Tower Square in silence. Jessica was snapping pictures of the stained glass of St. Peter ad Vincula, while Sara examined the plastic mold of the block that was used to execute martyrs and traitors alike. She could never imagine what it must have been like to be Anne Boleyn or Jane Grey to make that final walk to the execution spot with crowds either cheering on the executioner or mourning the tragic injustice of the sentence.

A cold breeze seemed to ripple right through her and she shivered. Waving to Jessica, she pointed inside the actual entrance to the building that housed the dungeons, indicating her destination to her friend. Jessica nodded to her in response, letting her friend know that she understood. Sara made her way down the circular walkway, feeling a distinct chill in the air as the area seemed to darken dramatically. She ended up in a room that was empty at the moment. The only light was provided by a dim light bulb, which highlighted some etchings on the wall. Sara went around touching the etchings gently in fascination.

This was history, unabridged history. Prisoners made markings on the wall to indicate their time spent in the tower. Sometimes, they even designed pictures or poetry. Fascinated, Sara went to see if she could find any writings from the Lady Jane Grey or Anne Boleyn.

She approached one interesting drawing that stood apart from the others, a series of numbers and mathematical sequences. She brushed her hand over those and yelped when she felt an electrical discharge. _What the-?_

She brushed her hands on her jacket, shaking it off as static electricity, and tried touching the symbols again. This time, she noticed a deepening crack in the area. She could have sworn it wasn't there before, and she felt a churning deep in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly light started to seep through the crevice. Immediately, she tried to pull her hand away; however, the instant she did, her hand remained attached to the area.

"What the hell?" She muttered. Sara examined the surface, wondering if she had managed to put her fingers on any gum residue. There were people who had no sense of historical preservation and would dispose of their trash anywhere. She scowled, as her examination couldn't find anything that would cause such a reaction. She attempted to yank her hand away again to no success.

"Jessica?" Her call echoed in the empty room, perhaps her friend could assist in this embarrassing predicament...

Silence.

Sara grit her teeth and used her other hand to try to detach herself. The force that held her limb in place like a vise suddenly yanked her forward, much like that of a magnet. This time, she screamed. The wall in front of her rushed at her, and Sara felt a surge of pain as her head made contact with the wall and darkness descended.

"Should we take her to hospital?" One voice asked. A dull throbbing sensation was an unwelcome reminder to Sara that she was returning from the bliss of unconsciousness.

"How did she get down there with no one seeing?" Another voice asked instead, leaving the first question unanswered.

"I don't know, Captain. We just found her there on the floor," Voice One sounded puzzled, Sara could almost imagine the owner scratching their head, confused.

"Any ID?" Voice Two persisted.

"There's an American passport, Sara Thomas from Seattle, Washington."

"And there was no other access into this building?"

"You know that even the Doctor can't access the black archive."

_Doctor? They don't want doctors here? My head is about to split open!_

Her thoughts were hazy as she tried to sort out the non-sensible conversation. Her eyelids felt as though they were made out of lead and her body was lethargic. Her skin felt tremendously sore and the hard surface she was lying on aggravated her considerably. She managed to let out a groan.

"She's waking up."

"Good. Finally, some answers."

"Captain Magambo, might I remind you that she should receive medical care. There was electrical discharge, and she likely has a concussion."

"I thought you said her injuries didn't appear serious," Voice One said almost accusingly.

They're not, they just shouldn't be ignored either, ma'am."

"I'll take that under consideration," the voice seemed firm and rather harsh. Sara couldn't fathom what she had done to put her in this much trouble, where they wouldn't allow a doctor into the building nor send her to the hospital. _Maybe there was some terrorist attack. Perhaps I was nearby. I'm being held as a witness. _She guessed.

A terrorist attack on the Tower of London would make sense, considering what she experienced. She was underground within the depths of the Tower. The white light could have been caused by a hallucination. If she remembered corrected, the terror alert had been raised in London, so if a car bomb went off that knocked her into the wall, this convoluted procedure had it's own reason.

Slowly, she managed to open her eyes. From all appearances, she was in a room that didn't allow for much overhead light but still looked oddly familiar, although for the life of her, Sara could swear she hadn't stepped foot in it before. From what she could distinguish, near where she laid, there were shelves upon shelves filled with crates and different other scattered items. Behind a glass window another other object she couldn't determine was being held. It appeared like a metallic, oversized watch. The room seemed to hum which did little to ease the pressing headache in her skull.

Rubbing her forehead to ease the pounding sensation that occurred beneath her fingertips, she looked up at them hazily. Everything was still a bit blurred and it was rather difficult to determine faces. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You don't remember?" A woman with the distinctly unfriendly voice that had been present when she emerged from her unconscious state approached her. Something about her seemed familiar. Sara had seen this person recently in some context, she was sure of it. Sara racked her brain trying to place her. A black woman; short, dark hair; militaristic with determined features; mid to late thirties, perhaps.

"I was taking a tour, and I just went to look at the rooms underground."

"Underground?" The woman asked. "In the tower?"

"Yes, the dungeons. Where else would they be?" The headache was making Sara short tempered, and she couldn't find it in herself to feel guilty for snapping.

"Are you telling me that the tour guide took you on a tour of the underground facilities?"

Sara frowned, "Why not? The Tower of London happens to be a tourist attraction. The door was open."

Her answer was met with unfriendly silence. Sara pushed herself up slowly. "What happened? Has there been an attack? Where is Jessica?"

"Attack?" The woman scrutinized her, "You think some form of aliens attacked you?"

_Aliens? _

"Aliens?" Sara looked at her blankly. "Is that what you call illegal immigrants?" She shook her head. "I was asking about terrorists. Has there been an attack by Al Qaeda? Is that why I'm here?"

"You mean a human terrorist group, then?"

Sara was impatient. "Look, I'm sorry if I went somewhere I shouldn't have. The tour guide wasn't specific in his directions. You can take it up with them. I paid for my ticket and I _swear_ I didn't see anything relevant before I hit my head, other than some white light that was probably just a hallucination."

From what Sara knew about head injuries, it would stand to reason that there would be tangible memory inconsistencies, seeing lights would be par for the course.

"What white light?"

Sara got off the table and tested her legs. "Does it matter? It was likely just my imagination."

"Likely not." The woman approached her with a strange device. "Dr. Taylor tells me you're radiating high amounts of anti-matter particles that were previously calculated to originate from the void."

Sara looked from the woman to the two others that stood by her side and burst out laughing. "What is this?" She asked, shaking her head. "Rehearsing your lines for 'Doctor Who'?"

They looked at her in silence as Sara managed to stifle her laughter. "Okay, whatever you have going on down here is your own business. I don't care, but I need to go and find my friend."

"I'm afraid that might not be possible," the woman said, more to herself than to Sara, before she turned to her associates. "Dr. Taylor, please contact the Doctor and apprise him of the situation." She handed him a file. "This number should reach him."

Sara assumed that whatever Dr. Taylor achieved his doctorate in; it wasn't in medicine. He also seemed unusually thrilled at the prospect of calling a physician. "Oh, my…Captain, it would be my honor. I always wanted to meet him."

Sara interrupted, "Oh, so finally I get a real doctor? My head is killing me." She turned to Dr. Taylor who was dialing a number on his cell phone and paused. Something wasn't quite right. "Wait, why wouldn't you just take me to the hospital? Why call and have someone come in here? I told you, I didn't see anything important."

The circumstances of the situation were starting to dawn on her. Dr. Taylor was speaking on his cell phone regarding voids, dimensions, and then, strangely, malcolm's per second, but certainly it wasn't regarding medical treatment. This entire circumstance was wrong.

However, the entire context of their conversation about dimensions was a familiar one, although her perspective came from something that should be purely fiction. When she heard the word TARDIS mentioned, she knew at once she had to get them to drop this act. It was going too far.

"You can't be serious." Sara's eyes flicked from the Captain to Dr. Taylor. "Isn't David Tennant or Matt Smith a tad busy to complete your little act?"

Her question provoked confusion. She could tell by the look on their faces. "Who?" The woman asked.

"And I thought those actors were well known here," Sara grumbled. "I mean in the States people often don't have a clue who they are, but here I thought they were notable."

The woman squared her shoulders, "You believe we are asking for help from actors?"

It finally dawned on Sara how this woman appeared familiar to her. She had appeared on at least one episode of Doctor Who. A relatively small role, all things considered, but she had just watched it on the ten hour plane flight to London, so it was relatively fresh in her mind. "You play a UNIT captain," she recalled. "Your character is in charge when a bus is taken to a different planet." Sara started to giggle at the madness of it.

She turned to Dr. Taylor who had paused on the phone to stare at her. "If I were you, Dr. Taylor, I wouldn't trust the Captain here. She threatened to shoot you in the back if you didn't close the wormhole and strand people on 'The Planet of the Dead.'" He looked at her quizzically. "Oh, haven't gotten that far yet?" Sara threw up her hands turning to the Captain. "I've had enough of this game."

"You think this all pretend?" The woman growled.

"Well, off the top of my head, I don't know what your real name is, but yes, you're an actress, so by definition, you are pretending to be a character," Sara snipped, irritated at the whole farce.

"My name is Captain Erisa Magambo, and you seem awfully well informed of an organization that people shouldn't know exists," the woman baited.

"Anyone who has seen 'Doctor Who' knows about this supposed secret organization. At any rate, I'm done playing this little contest. I don't know if you have simply lost it or if this is your definition of entertainment, but I'm leaving."

The woman moved to stand in front of her. "You will remain here until-"

Sara cut her off, "-until the Doctor gets here in his time machine to complete this little charade? That's really tempting, _maybe_ he can keep your finger off the phony nukes planted underneath the Tower."

That elicited a gasp. "You _know_ about that?" The woman's voice was fierce.

Her skull was palpitating. She had to get out of there, get fresh air, and then find Jessica and, hopefully, some sound-minded people. Clearly, this group was not in their right mind. There were only three people and one of them was still distracted, talking on the phone. That left the captain and likely a private accompanying her. Sara maneuvered her hand into her jacket pocket, grabbing a handful of coins. Since the British had no paper bill for anything less than five pounds, she had a heavy pocketful of a random assortment of change that she had been using for the bus and underground.

Grasping the change and angling her fist behind her back, Sara relinquished her hold and was pleased with the sound of all the change echoing off the walls in the room. "Oh crap," she made the appearance of kneeling down.

In reaction, the captain and the private kneeled down to assist. Sara didn't hesitate but, instead, made a straight dash to the exit. She burst right through, alleviated to find the door unlocked, ending up in a dark corridor, but straight in front of her, she could see daylight at the other end. Only one person was there to man the guard stand. He was startled and gave a shout as she ran right past him, out the doors, and into the crowds that surrounded the tower.

She barely rounded to the other side of the Tower, managing to ensconce herself with a group of tourists who were taking pictures, when she saw a military clad troops burst from different exit points from the structure. They were splitting up into smaller groups and starting to roam around the premises. Sara felt distinctly uneasy; somehow, this wasn't a mere game to them. She had to find Jessica and locate the police before she found herself in further peril. _Insane, this is utterly insane._


	2. Alone

The phone she had purchased at Virgin Mobile wasn't working. It kept stating that it was disconnected or no longer in service. Jessica had brought her smartphone with her so her number remained the same, and, fortunately, Sara knew that by memory. Purchasing a phone card with cash, she made her way to one of the many charming, red phone booths that littered the street. She smiled briefly in memory of how just yesterday she and Jessica both had posed inside a booth, and how Jessica complained of the smell, refusing to pick up the actual phone. It had reeked as though someone had urinated inside the booth.

Now lifting the receiver, she dialed the country code and phone number for Jessica's cell phone. It rang continuously until it was finally picked up. "Hello?" The voice on the other end was barely audible.

"Jessica?" Sara asked. "Where are you?"

The person on the other end swore, "Do you have any idea what time it is?!" The voice most certainly wasn't Jessica's.

"I'm sorry, I thought I dialed 206-341-9295," Sara stammered.

"And you succeeded at that, waking me up four in the morning!" There was a loud click.

Sara was bewildered. She briefly considered calling home to obtain help, but waking her family up in the middle of the night seemed a bit extreme. She was likely to panic them unnecessarily over such a small matter of not being able to reach her best friend. The girls had established that if they ever got separated and couldn't make contact, they would reconvene at the hotel. From there, Sara could ask the front desk to call the police to report the events of the Tower. It was all quite simple really.

Her sound logic was about to take a swift departure after she exited the taxi outside the hotel on Lancaster Street. The interior of the lobby looked discernibly different from when the girls had first checked in, but Sara had more pressing issues on her mind. Going to the front desk, she showed them her room key and explained the situation.

The front desk clerk swiped the key and frowned. Swiping it again, he shrugged and summoned someone else to the desk, who also tried swiping the key.

"Is there a problem?" Sara asked impatiently.

"It appears so," the man replied. "We cannot locate your reservation."

"Then you must be mistaken," Sara handed over the duplicate key, which was still in its sleeve with the room number on it. "This is your hotel logo and you can see by your own writing I am staying in room 210."

"Miss, we don't have you registered under that room," the man insisted.

Pulling a document out of her purse, she unfolded her reservation and handed it over to him.

The man examined the paper and once again looked at his computer. "There must be a technical problem. I can see on here that you paid for the week, but we don't have the records in the system. The reservation number doesn't exist."

"All my luggage is there, all I have with me is my purse," Sara fretted.

"Miss, I apologize. I will assign someone to search the rooms for your luggage, and we will do everything in our power to rectify this situation," he smiled reassuringly. "It was likely accidentally deleted and your luggage was moved to the locked storage area. No one would steal anything."

Sara shook her head, "I'm just having the worst day. I can't find my friend I was traveling with, and I was practically assaulted at the Tower of London."

In a polite manner, the man came around from behind the desk. "I am sorry to hear that. Why don't you relax at this table with a cup of complimentary tea while we rectify this room situation and call the police about filing your report?"

All of a sudden, Sara's weariness had caught up with her. "Thank you," she murmured.

Sitting down in one of the lounge chairs was a relief to her sore legs and her aching head. _I still need to see a doctor. _She realized. Sara searched her purse for her travel insurance. Perhaps she had some spare Advil with her. A staff member brought her the tea in a crème colored mug. Gesturing to him to wait, she asked, "I am sorry to bother you, but I hit my head pretty hard this morning. I need to know how to see a doctor. I do have travel insurance."

The staff member started to open his mouth in respond, when another voice interjected, "Not to worry, I'm the Doctor."

Sara, who was rubbing her head and looking down at her tea, was startled by the sudden proclamation. She glanced up and felt her throat clench in shock. _What is David Tennant doing here? _She asked herself dazedly.

"Sir? Did you say you were a doctor? Are you part of the on call staff we use?"

Sara felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The staff member didn't recognize the actor, no one else at the hotel so much as glanced at him twice. Certainly with his reputation in England, he should have drawn a considerable crowd with the numbers that were in the lobby, but no one seemed to care. It was as if he was beyond their notice.

Somehow, this madness didn't just exist with the group that had found her at the Tower of London. It seemed like in the time she spent unconscious, that various segments of the City had gone haywire. It simply wasn't possible.

When she watched with some horror as the person who matched every aspect of David Tennant pull out a thin, black, leather, pocket-sized holder that was all too familiar and flipped it open for the staff member to view, she managed to find her voice, addressing the staff member first.

"You honestly don't recognize David Tennant standing right in front of you?" she asked incredulously.

The staff member was baffled. Sara stood up, knocking her tea over and causing it to spill on the carpet. "Come on, David Tennant, the famous actor. He's been in Shakespeare's Hamlet, United, Fright Night, Harry Potter, and Doctor Who. Ring any bells?"

"'Doctor Who?' That's a catchy name," the actor said, making Sara turn to face him, perplexed.

"This is crazy," she said. "You're David Tennant."

"I'm afraid you have me mistaken," he dismissed.

The staff member continued to oscillate between the two of them, looking uncertain as the actor leaned in reassuringly towards him. "Obvious confusion and amnesia associated with a head injury. I can handle this."

"Are you sure, Doctor? I can call for an ambulance, maybe she should be taken to hospital."

"It's all right, I'll take care of her myself," the man assured him.

The actor started to reach for her and Sara jumped back. The sudden movement made her dizzy. She called out in protest, "No!" The staff member was startled and turned. "He's mad!"

"Oi! I happen to know that I'm brilliant!" The actor protested.

Sara ignored him, "He's just an actor or a double. He's not a doctor."

The staff member shook his head, "He works on our staff, miss. I saw his credentials, just let him help you."

"No," Sara tried to object but the staff member had picked up the mug and moved on, already negating her as someone else's problem. Sara didn't know what to make of this twisted situation and decided to back away from the actor or at least his virtual doppelganger. However, he was closing the distance between the two of them and had an intense look in his eyes.

"We need to talk," he intoned seriously.

Sara shook her head. "This is insane. I don't know why no one recognizes you, you're David Tennant, from Doctor Who."

"Firstly, David Tennant is not my name," he said. "Thirdly, no, _secondly_, you spoke with the captain, I heard everything you said."

"The captain?" Sara repeated slowly. "At the tower?"

He nodded.

"Look, she's insane, they're playing the whole thing like it's an episode of Doctor Who and that UNIT is real." She snorted. "Next thing you'll tell me is that Torchwood is real too and your grave is waiting for you at Trenzalore."

He appeared shocked by her revelation, but his answering response wasn't to confirm her accusation.

"You're from another dimension, that much is certain, because you're covered in void matter." Brown eyes met hers. "Perhaps from a reality that has seen my future."

_Oh God. _"The Doctor is a character from a _TV show_. I am _not _having this conversation with you, whoever you are. Just leave me alone!"

This was going to be more difficult than he had anticipated. He had already deduced the girl had been brought here as an after effect of the reality bomb weakening the dimensional walls. Of course, he thought the reality bomb has only been used on a small scale within the Crucible. The ship had exploded and then he had steered the Earth back to its original position. What if he had been wrong? The girl was looking at him in utter disbelief. Her eyes were distinctly glazed in pain but filled with mistrust.

He pondered what happened only a short while ago before he was left in misery. He had what he could nearly describe before the destruction of Gallifrey, a family. After wiping Donna's mind and making the long trek back to the TARDIS in the pouring rain, he swore not again. It simply hurt too much to lose them.

Then he got the call from Malcolm.

He could clearly overhear what the girl had said, it chilled him. He had to determine what she knew, but UNIT was less inclined to turn over prizes they had found first. He couldn't help but laugh when the girl pulled such a stunt and managed to run off. Still, UNIT was only in habit of calling him to consult and when their guns proved ineffective. Humans and weapons, it was completely distasteful. Had he not seen his whole planet destroyed? Yet, these humans seemed utterly mind bent on doing the same to their own world. He wouldn't allow it, Earth was his responsibility.

Sara backed away and decided to head back to the reception desk. Clearly this person was _also_ not in his right mind, did madmen surround her? Surely the people at the desk would have an alternate room in place for her, and she could get inside the new room and deadbolt the door on this madness. Before she could walk two steps, however, his hand clamped down on her shoulder. "That is not an option."

Now, she was his responsibility. He had to get her back to the TARDIS.

She gasped in surprise as he turned, rotating his grip to her forearm, and pulled her out of the hotel. Momentary shock had prevented her from screaming, but now she stood firm. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked in protest before trying to pull her arm away. "Let go of me!"

She couldn't fathom why no one was reacting to her possible abduction. They were passing right by as if they were both invisible. "Help me," she implored.

Nothing.

They continued to stream right by, possibly they thought it was just an act, but it still was bizarre.

He had slipped the Perception Filter on over his neck when her back was turned. The girl was bordering on panic so the chances of talking her down quietly, much less allowing him to escort her back to the TARDIS, were low. He didn't have the luxury of time without his ship. UNIT could be here at any time. Once he got her on board, he could calm her down and get her healed up.

Sara was scrambling to remember any self-defense tools. Her mind was nearly running blank, but she recalled something about dead weight. She forced herself to allow her body to fall completely to the ground, so he would be forced to adjust to dragging her dead weight. She could feel gravel cut through her jeans and winced as the sidewalk met her back, taking the brunt of the force.

It had caught him off guard and he turned around to reassess the situation. _Did she collapse? _Using that time, she jammed her foot as hard as she could muster into his calf. He yelped and released her. As quickly as she could manage, she turned over and pushed herself back up to her feet with her hands, taking off running.

In a blink of an eye, people seemed to see her and were dodging to get out of her way. They could see her again. She could hear him calling out from behind her. "Wait!" He was giving chase. "Stop!"

Sara didn't pause. He knew where she was staying, she couldn't return to the hotel, but she couldn't run indefinitely either. At the last moment, she veered into traffic, crossing the street amidst the sound of car horns and squealing tires into Hyde Park where she noticed tourists venturing. What the park offered her were trees and enclosures, places to hide from the mad man chasing her.

The Doctor nearly let out a curse as he watched her run into traffic. He had stayed on Earth far too long. When he got across the street, he threw his hands up into his air in frustration. She had vanished. Maybe he was getting too old for this, if he was being honest with himself, he, a man well over nine hundred years, was chasing a human girl who was a mere fraction of his age.

There were better methods. The Doctor quickly returned to the TARDIS and picked up the phone, "Martha, I need your help."

Skittering among the groups of tourists, Sara managed to run continually between and among them finding herself at Kensington Park. She ducked behind a cottage at the side of the road and peeked around the corner. She didn't see him, good, but being able to lose his trail might only be momentary. A park was not a good long-term refuge.

This had gone too far, she needed to call home. She had her passport with her, if this craziness continued in this country, she could locate the American embassy and secure a flight home. They could locate Jessica. Sara could not only imagine the panic Jessica must be in right now, since Sara wasn't at the Tower or at the hotel, nor was her cell phone working.

But so far, the people Sara encountered weren't looking for Jessica yet. No, this madness seemed utterly focused on her.

Was the man an actor or a doppelganger? How rare was it that a person could resemble David Tennant so exactly and not be him? She knew that people said everyone had their own unrelated twin in the world, but she always thought it was an urban legend. Of course, there were people with strong resemblance and traits, but she never met anyone to a degree that could double for another person so dramatically.

But there were other odd things. Even if that person were just a double of a famous actor, he certainly would have attracted attention by those passing by. There were forty to fifty patrons milling about in that hotel, and no one paid him more than a cursory glance!

He also used an object as if he were a character straight out of the series, psychic paper from the appearance. There was also the way that people didn't seem to see them when he was dragging her down the street, not even when she cried out for help. When she managed to free herself, only then did they actually notice her. A concept sprang to mind, _perception filter. _She had seen that sort of reaction before, but only on TV, on Torchwood and Doctor Who. She recalled that when the Doctor had crafted necklaces for his associates to wear, they didn't draw attention to themselves. They remained practically invisible.

_Nothing was making sense. _

Sara circumvented the cottage and walked through the trees. She would make her way back to the street, find a phone, and call home. Her family must be made aware of the circumstances, then she could find the embassy. She considered going to the police, but with the sheer number of problems she was encountering, there stood a chance that those insane individuals might've anticipated her going there.

After twenty minutes of walking, she maneuvered her way out of Hyde Park and eventually found herself near Buckingham Palace. More phone booths littered the street, which was a relief. Going to the nearest one, Sara brushed sweaty strands of hair from her forehead. Carefully, she entered the phone card information followed by her phone number.

It came as an immense shock when a digital voice informed her the number she was attempting to call had been disconnected. Tears started to spring to her eyes in frustration as she attempted to dial again only to receive the same result. _No, this isn't happening. _She dialed a third time. It was the same message.

She stumbled back from the phone booth, putting her hand to her mouth. She could think of no logical explanation. She had been grasping at mere straws before, but now what was there left to consider? _I'm having a nightmare, some sort of very lucid, trauma-induced nightmare._

That was an explanation in this world of the bizarre circumstances. She thought of going to the embassy, but she had the uneasy feeling that, like the hotel, they would find her non-existent as well. Regardless of her passport, she wouldn't exist. Wasn't that one of her real life dreads? That she would lose her entire identity and be completely isolated? That everything she knew would vanish?

Still, she dialed the number for the embassy, and, after being transferred four times, they verified they couldn't find anyone with her name matching her passport number. They offered to allow her to come to the embassy, where they could detain her while they investigated but also gave her a stern threat that committing fraud and falsifying passport information would come with repercussions and possible imprisonment.

She tried to ask what they meant by that, to which the person inferred that she would be considered a likely threat to national security. It was vile. If she did go there and was found to not exist, she would be trapped in an even deeper nightmare.

She replaced the phone and walked away numbly with no sense of purpose. She could hardly think to formulate a plan, when something caught her eye. It was a discarded newspaper on a park bench. Picking it up out of curiosity, she glanced at the headlines. It was nearly like reading something out of the National Enquirer speaking about aliens and a day of darkness with a picture of a dark sky ringed by multiple planets. _Just like in 'The Journey's End.'_

She glanced down at the current date: August 4, 2008. _But that's six years ago. _She dropped the paper. It was a dream, it had to be, she had to wake herself up. She must have hit her head pretty hard, otherwise she would have awoken hours ago. As she tried pinching herself to no avail, she considered stronger measures. _I need to shock myself out of the dream._

Taking out her keys from her purse, a complete nail file was attached with a sharp pair of scissors. Without thought, she plunged the blades into her forearm and yelped in pain. She was certainly bleeding, but she wasn't waking up.

"Are you alright?" Someone asked off to her side, Sara glanced over, just a girl about her age. Sara's eyes watered briefly as her arm stung.

"Yes, I think so," she murmured.

"You're bleeding!" A napkin was held out to her, which Sara took, thanking the girl with a brief smile. "That looks deep, you might need a doctor."

"No, that's the last thing I need." The girl raised her eyebrows and Sara shook her head, saying, "It's just a scratch, I'll be fine."

The girl seemed somewhat unconvinced but nodded and walked away. Sara removed her map from her purse and checked it, deciding to make her way to the nearest bridge over the Thames. Obviously short bursts of pain weren't going to free her from the dream, but where that would fail, a long fall would succeed. It would force her mind out of this wretched existence. It was considerably a drastic measure and Sara _hated_ falling in her dreams, but they did succeed to wrench her out of her unconscious state.

She made her way down Buckingham Palace Road, connecting to Chelsea Bridge Road. Seeing the bridge rise up in front of her gave Sara mixed feelings of relief and dread. _My ticket out of this crazy world._

The traffic on the bridge wasn't unduly heavy and there was a pedestrian railing, but it wasn't difficult to scale. She climbed over it and with her back against the railing, herself facing the water below. Holding onto the top bar, she was reminded briefly of the scene from Titanic when Rose considered the wisdom of whether she should fall to her death or not.

Although surely, had Rose known for certain she was trapped in a perpetuating nightmare and needed to wake up, she would have let go without hesitation. Still, _falling_, even in your dreams it was frightening. Sara took a deep breath and repeated constantly, "It's just a dream. When I let go, I'll fall and wake up. I'll be back home," she said aloud.

She was ready. Dimly behind her, she heard voices calling out in alarm. If they had just noticed her, they wouldn't reach her in time.

She relinquished her grasp from the rail and started to tilt forward amidst the screams she only scarcely heard. _I'm going to wake up. I'm going to-_

Her thoughts were interrupted as arms encircled her midsection and yanked her up and over the bar, "No, stop it, you don't understand!"

"I time travel and _I _don't understand why you would throw yourself off a bridge?"

He had found her again and at the worst possible time. He reasserted his grip over her arms as she struggled fiercely; the crowd around them watched with interest.

"I need to wake up," she told him. "This isn't real, I just need to wake up."

He spun her around, his hands clamped down on her shoulders. "Listen to me, you're not dreaming."

Sara shook her head in denial as she tried to pull away. "You're not real, you're just a character from a TV show. Fiction, that's all you are, _fiction_. When I wake up, you'll be part of a TV show again."

"Look at me," the man pleaded, and she wanted to refuse, pondering the consequences of such a command. "_Look at me_, Sara."

Finally, she lifted her eyes to meet his. He spoke to her quietly, "This world is real, and you have been displaced."

"Displaced?"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he muttered. "This is my fault, I know, I didn't understand."

Her struggles had stilled for the moment as she looked at him in shock, "Understand what?"

This wasn't how he intended to tell her, but the last thing he expected when he managed to get a fix on her energy signature was to see her about to plummet to her own demise. Still, he had her pinned to the railing. The pedestrians were murmuring that she had clearly lost her wits. He continued to speak softly, "The white light you saw, it erased everything from existence. You were an exception that crossed the void, but your world and your reality…"

The horror of his words was starting to creep up on her and she started to tremble. "No, you can't mean…"

"I am so very sorry." He was silent for a moment. "Your world is gone, it has been written out of existence, obliterated."

That was when she heard the screams echoing everywhere. Distantly, it was hard to know who was screaming so loudly when she herself felt paralyzed. "You're fiction, a character from a TV show, you're lying!"

Sara was trapped in a whirling tide pool of pure rage and grief, which seemed to stifle anything she could make sense of. There was nothing but that vast swirling vortex of emotions that blended together to the point that she didn't realize the one that was screaming so loudly was herself.

Somewhere in her mind, she recognized that his hands went to her forehead. One command entered the onslaught of her torrential emotions. _Sleep. _She collapsed, scarcely feeling his arms catch her as she entered the relief of oblivion.

He scooped her up quickly as soon as she fell. The crowd murmured in concern as he made his way through, heading in the direction of the TARDIS.

"She'll be all right, everyone. I'm going to take her home."

_Another lie, I'm always doing that, lying. _Like it or not, he was bringing in another stray. This time, a very unwilling one.

**Author's Note: This chapter has also been revised to include more than one perspective.**


	3. Opaque

_Sara sat up in bed in her hotel room and felt relief course through her at the sight of the darkened room. 'Just a nightmare,' she thought. The bed beside her had the familiar lump of Jessica huddled beneath the covers. _

_So she didn't have to fall, she just had to go to sleep in her dream world to wake up in the real world. Maybe she had watched 'Inception' one too many times. Despite the movie's creativity, she could not see using it as a guide for helping to navigate the dream world._

_It was to her relief that her whole journey to the Tower of London had been part of the nightmare. Sara got out of bed and went to the bathroom and starting drinking water copiously from the faucet. Strangely the water tasted different, there was nearly a coppery after taste. She tried not to mind._

_When she emerged from the bathroom, the lights were on. "Sara, you alright?" Jessica asked._

_Sara opened her mouth to answer, but instead stood mute and stunned as she looked at Jessica. The whites of her eyes were gone, the whole of them covered in blackness. They were completely opaque. Those gruesome eyes furthermore were staring at her as Jessica's voice asked innocently, "Sara, what is wrong?"_

"_Jess, your eyes!"_

"_Oh that," Jessica shrugged. "They were eaten. You know how your eyes are the first to go."_

"_Eaten?"_

"_Come on, Sara, weren't you paying attention? The light got us."_

"_But you're here!"_

_Jessica gestured around the room. "We are your echoes, that's all. You brought us here to see. Aren't you curious?"_

_Sara backed away revolted, "But why?"_

_Her question was ignored. "You should have warned us, Sara. I was your best friend."_

"_But I don't know what's going on!"_

"_Remember a year ago?"_

_Sara shook her head._

"_Come on, Sara, try to remember."_

"_A year ago?" Sara stammered. "Last Christmas? You were away…"_

_Jessica advanced on her, "I saw you on the bridge. You wanted to join us. Be an echo." She laughed, "Isn't this your dream come true?"_

"_No," Sara shook her head in refusal. "This isn't real."_

"_Now I'm being eaten alive at your expense. You really should see this." Jessica seized Sara's arm, pressing her face close. White tendrils were all around Jessica's face and starting to bore into her skin. Sara could distinctly see them eat away at her friend's flesh and started to gag._

"_And you wanted to join us," Jessica laughed. "I'm touched." Sara tried to push away and backed into the door._

"_There are still more bridges you can jump off of, we can be eaten together." Jessica smiled, her teeth were missing. "It'll be fun, won't it, Sara?"_

_It was then that Sara started to scream._

The scream that pierced her throat jarred her awake, and Sara shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. She took a few deep breaths, clutching the heavy feather down comforter in her one hand. _I didn't have a down comforter at the hotel. _She dropped the bedspread that appeared in a soft shade of blue, her favorite color. _How is that possible? _Even the color of her comforter at home was white since a neutral tone was a safe choice that would complement other shades in her room.

This clearly wasn't her room. Sara could ascertain that much simply by noting the obvious lack of other furnishing. The room only had the bed that she was lying in and a strange device mounted on the sterile white wall that seemed to be recording various patterns. She was briefly reminded of a heart rate monitor she had so often seen in medical shows on TV, but this seemed far more detailed. Furthermore, it streamed a series of numbers and equations that were above her understanding for only completing business calculus. The light in these quarters was muted and she could hear a fading hum that seemed to emanate from the walls like a pulse. The barely discernible hum seemed to encroach upon her and made her eyelids feel heavy. She tried to shake herself, but the effect was only reduced momentarily before returning. Something in this room seemed to be inducing her to return to sleep.

She refused to slip back into the nightmare.

Getting out of the bed, she tested her legs. She realized parts of her clothing had been removed or cut away, while in their stead, a color set of bandages had been scattered along her legs and arms. She felt a flurry of indignation but then fascination as one bandage caught her notice. Upon first appearance, it was in the shade of slight green but, before her very eyes, the color slowly faded to white. In curiosity, she gently lifted up the bandage that was on her leg. The wound beneath it had vanished without a trace. The other coverings on her skin were working in a similar fashion.

Even while sitting up, the room seemed to emit a vibration that made her drowsy and disoriented. Sara managed to stand solidly on her feet and rushed to the door, only to find to her immense frustration that it was sealed, the doorknob simply wouldn't turn.

She started to pound on it and yell in fury, refusing to be trapped in this room that seemed to want her comatose. She then heard footsteps, and the door slid open as she saw David Tennant. _No, his look alike. _He was standing in front of her.

His expression was one of sorrow as she frantically gazed passed him to the outer room.

"What the hell is going on? Where did you take me?"

"The one place you would be safe," he attempted to keep a soothing tone in his voice. This would not be an ideal situation for either of them.

His species matcher scan proved conclusively that she was human, yet when he initiated the Advanced Diagnostic Terminal, which he reprogramed for her species, the results proved quite astonishing. He had expected the void matter, since Martha had transmitted UNITS findings to him. Their equipment was still far less advanced then diagnostics available from Gallifrey, but it was able to detect a unique source of energy that resided in the girl. Since she had been unconscious and was in no position to object, he submitted her to various scans in hopes of identifying the source of the energy readings. It was disturbingly inconclusive, he needed more time. It could be a form of radiation that she picked up crossing the void that was inconsistent for humans to ever obtain, if so, he had to study other species to see if a similar pattern could be found. Consulting the Sontarans might prove risky but a clone race had advantages, their medical expertise would be considerable.

Of course, he had to approach them with some accord and not be shot down the moment he showed his face, perhaps there was another alternative.

"What is that supposed to be mean?" Sara tried to push past him, yet he seized her wrists gently and pushed her back in the room.

"It is alright, you're safe here."

"Here? Where is here?"

He raised his eyebrows, "My home."

"Your home," Sara repeated. Suddenly it dawned on her what he was trying to say. "The TARDIS."

"So you know."

"I've seen the seven seasons of the show at home, _of course_ I know."

"You think I'm an actor?"

"Or someone extremely deluded. You've kidnapped me," Sara returned. "I want to go home, this isn't real."

He sighed and took her shoulders in his hands. "Sara," he said gently. "Your home doesn't exist anymore."

Her continual denial wasn't helping matters, he glanced around the room. The Neural Dampener was still activated albeit, the setting was on low. He had hoped by setting her in the sleep room, she would still remain in slumber for several more hours. Even on a low setting, it should have still been sufficient for that purpose.

Then he realized his mistake, he had forgotten to make key adjustments to the Dampener. She must have had nightmares, which would have easily been avoided if he had alter the device to setting eight, which would then suppress them. No wonder she was able to stay conscious.

"No, this isn't real, the Doctor is part of a TV show. How am I supposed to believe you?"

He drew in a deep breath, he knew all too well her pain. Had not his own world been obliterated? The guilt wore on him every day, which made the misery since he said his last good-bye to Donna worsen. So often, he tried to tell himself there was no other way. Rassilon wanted to destroy the time vortex, _entire universes_ would have been destroyed, so that the Time Lords could ascend to pure consciousness. He made a necessary sacrifice for the greater good. Those words seemed so empty now, but he tried to remember the years of war, power had made the council corrupt. The time lock that was put in place during the war on Gallifrey prevented anyone from interceding with the destruction of the planet. It made him heartsick, he had no wish to survive.

He fathomed Sara felt the same way, maybe he could delay until she was better rested. "Maybe you'll want to change and rest, I can-"

She shuddered, "No."

He nodded knowingly, "Bad dreams?"

She winced, "I don't want to sleep. I just want go home."

"I forgot to adjust the settings to inhibit your dreams, my fault really."

She glanced back at the room and then back to the Doctor. "What do you mean? What is that place?"

"A sleep room, it's right off the sickbay," he pointed to the device above her head. "That's a Neural Dampener. Among other things, it induces a sleep state." He gestured to the bed. "You took quite a knock to your head. I promise, no nightmares this time. You should rest and recover-"

Sara looked at him speculatively, "What, for my concussion?"

"Well, yes, with you humans, the mind is a tricky thing and-"

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes filled with doubt. "You lied to me," she said simply.

He was taken aback, "What?"

She shook her head, "River Song was right. That is, if you are who you say you are. A Time Lord has the ability to cure concussions."

He was silent, thinking of River Song. A woman he met only once that didn't hesitate to give her life for his. Of course, he knew that his life would intersect with hers again, but this girl already knew. Wherever she was from, her knowledge was a considerable liability. He was able to cure concussions even without use of the TARDIS. It simply required contact and maneuvering the earlobe to remedy them. But if this girl knew about that, what else did she know?

"Where you are from, what year is it?"

She hesitated, "It's 2014."

Six years, if it was true, she knew six years of his future. The possible consequences could be disastrous. If other species were to so much as to find out about her, she would be taken as a trophy and sold off to the highest bidder. If any of the Daleks were still around, they would mostly certainly use her to create a paradox that could unravel the universe.

"I just want to go home," her eyes were pleading. What could he say? Her reality no longer existed.

"Sara, there is no home." He paused. "Only weeks ago, a race called the Daleks used a reality bomb. It was already weakening the fabric between realities." He took her arm and walked her into the outer sickbay. "You may have seen some signs of it yourself in your dimension. All the realities were bleeding into each other."

Sara shook her head, "I don't remember. It's been a long year."

"I know the feeling. The reality bomb was set off in a small scale on the Dalek ship. There should have been no repercussions on other realities. They were testing the device."

"You mean, all those people that became obliterated onboard the ship." Sara murmured. "Then Donna was in the TARDIS and created your human clone."

"She helped to save everyone in this reality."

"And lost her mind in the process."

"The reality bomb caused cracks in multiple different dimensions. Somehow you radiate a special signature and were made immune as your reality ceased to exist." He paused. "The energy acted like a shell around you, keeping you alive."

He started to pace. "Your reality must move faster then ours. There are billions of parallel universes out there, literally hundreds of billions. They all occupy the same space-time coordinates but exist in a different dimension. They move sideways in time rather then forward and back."

Sara frowned, "No, we moved in time just fine." She jerked away from him and leaned heavily against the wall of the sick bay. "This is ridiculous. I just got my degree, I was on vacation with Jessica, it was normal, and that was all I wanted. Why can't I have that?" She looked up at him, "Can you fix it?"

He gave a sigh. How could he explain this to a human? This one already seemed incredibly volatile. "Sara, you existed in a parallel universe and, in general, they can exist just fine and have no impact on each other. Usually parallel universes are separated by millisecond of time and a nanometer of space."

"So what's the problem? What happened?"

"When the reality bomb was activated and the walls between realities weakened, this universe completely split from yours and our timeline destroyed all time in the parallel reality. Our universe consumed it to exist," he shook his head. "I didn't know."

"They can't be gone. Why am I here? I am part of that timeline, I remember everything."

"Think, Sara, do you remember anything happening to you this past year? Time for you moved more rapidly, you received a high concentration of energy particles which acted as a buffer allowing you to pass through the void." He moved towards her. "That didn't happen overnight. Do you remember feeling odd or really sick? Laid up at all?"

Sara lowered her head, she could hardly process what he was telling her. He was demanding answers. "Sick?" She muttered. "Yes, sick," she said, "I got sick." Pressing her hands to her head, she continued, "They said it was my thyroid, a sudden onset of hyperthyroidism. My metabolism was speeding out of control, they gave me medication. My heart still palpitates, but it's getting better." He gave her a look of consternation. "It _was_ better, it's…" She looked around. "But this can't be happening, my family, my friends…"

She turned away from him, tears started to well in her eyes. She wouldn't allow him to see her cry. "It was nothing! I was going to do all the things I wanted to do and then I saw that light." In fury, she slammed her hand against the wall. "I saw Jessica last night in a dream or a nightmare. She said her eyes were eaten, and she blamed me. It was my fault."

She felt weight of his hand on her shoulder, "I can promise you that nothing that has happened is your fault."

"Then why am I still here?"

He turned her to face him directly. "Because, Sara Thomas, you still have a purpose, and I will help you figure this out. It will be my pleasure."

"Pleasure?" She repeated incredulously. "I just want to go home." She collapsed onto her knees, blinking rapidly. "Why can't I go home?" She whispered. Sara never felt so alone before, yet here she was, in a place that was utterly alien to her, feeling the first tendrils of hopelessness creep upon her. It was impossible. How could she live knowing her family and friends had simply vanished? How could she accept that? "I don't want to be here anymore," she murmured, folding her face into her arms.

"I know," he said. He was kneeling down to face her, his hands still on her shoulders as he pulled her forward, holding her against his chest. She was reluctant at first, nearly pulling away at this strange offer of comfort, but his hands remained firm. Finally, she leaned into the embrace and found that she could not stifle the tears. Distantly, she could hear the two heartbeats, which seemed to confirm her worst suspicions.

"Their eyes," she murmured as the nightmare crept back into her mind. "They were being eaten."

"Never mind, none of it was real," the Doctor answered reassuringly. "They never knew what hit them, I can swear to that."

The embrace continued partially in silence and until her stifled sobs relented. "You didn't let me jump," she whispered.

"You would have died," he released her gently and sat beside her against the wall. "You are my responsibility. Considering your circumstances, I couldn't let you go."

"What about UNIT?"

"We were both right about one thing, UNIT cannot be trusted. Humans," his features betrayed disgust. "If they aren't trying to blow up this planet, then they are picking fights with other species."

"Does that include you?"

"From time to time. I'm often a last resort, they know I don't approve of their methods."

"So, what am I supposed to do?" Sara took a shuddering breath. "Start again?" It was difficult to conceive of a life where she had to rebuild from scratch, but it was feasible. If this wasn't a dream, and she still couldn't rule it out, she would far rather be in surroundings that were familiar to her then this alien environment. "I had a degree in public relations and if I could get documentation here-"

"No, I'm sorry. I need to keep an eye on you. The best way to do that is to take you along."

"Take me along," Sara repeated stupidly.

"On my travels." He seemed nearly excited at the prospect. Sara was horrified. "Think about it, it would take your mind off your friends and family. You can travel to places beyond the scope of your imagination."

"You're the Doctor," Sara said, saying that aloud, trying to come to terms with the word in reality as opposed to fiction. She still felt foolish as if she were losing her senses, perhaps she was the one that had gone insane.

"I'm glad we got the squared away." It was a good sign for him that she was coming to terms with the reality of her situation. He didn't like the idea of having to lock her away onboard the TARDDIS for the next sixty years and if he could get her to agree to accompany him willingly, then such extreme measures would not be necessary.

He couldn't trust Sara to live on her own without interference, she had to be closely monitored. It wasn't just her knowledge about the future, although there were several species that would consider that information alone extremely valuable, but the dense energy inside her had to be observed. Even Jack Harkness and Torchwood didn't have near the expertise needed to handle this situation. Besides, the girl was still a hazard to herself. An emotionally volatile human with all those energy particles who just attempted to kill herself? No, it was out of the question.

She shook her head in adamant refusal, "I just can't. I've seen all of this on TV, whenever you travel, you put everyone in danger. Where you go next…" She trailed off.

"Where I go next, what?"

She shook her head. "You mentioned the reality bomb. In my world, that happened on four years ago on the show."

"You really believe I was on a TV show," he was incredulous.

"As opposed to?"

"A gift, perhaps." He offered, "You could be psychic and not know it."

"With details just concerning your life, how does that make sense?" She continued. "You accepted I was from a parallel world, is it so far-fetched that all of this is part of a TV show?"

He was silent, gazing at her in consternation.

She made a groan in frustration, "I thought you had experience with parallel universes."

"Before the Time War, travel between alternate realities was relatively simple by the other Time Lords." His expression was filled with bitter sadness. "Now, Gallifrey is gone, and it's nearly impossible, so with the billions of realities out there, I haven't been to yours."

She sighed, "So you don't believe me."

"I didn't say that. I'm struggling to wrap my mind around the fact that my life is being used as a form of entertainment."

"I only know pieces about your travels and your life, and I know what the Ood said. You're song is ending, maybe that's why you left Rose with your human counterpart."

It was a sore subject, and the Doctor turned away, "Among other things."

"Sacrifice, then," Sara said.

"You had to mention Rose."

"Unfortunately, I'm psychic," she grimaced, "Or I saw it on TV."

He turned back to her. "Yes, knowing the future, even just my future is dangerous. The information you have is valuable especially in the wrong hands."

She shook her head, "I don't care. What is there left for me to worry about? You had to tell me that my entire universe is gone. Everyone I loved has completely vanished. I just want to go home."

She was retreating again into her denial which he found frustrating. He confronted her, "Jumping off a bridge is not going to get you there."

"This shouldn't be real. I even seen the sets on TV. I've seen the actors and writers interviewed. It's fiction!"

"And yet here you are."

"You already lost three companions. You can't tell me you were looking for another one?"

"You're right, I wasn't."

"And I don't want to be here."

"Sara, this is different. You are too much of a danger to be left unchecked."

"But you don't even know who I am!"

"After running initial tests to try to get a determination, I don't."

"And after you find out, will you let me go?"

"My answer would still be no. There are species that would potentially use you as a weapon, I can't allow it."

Sara backed away from him in shock. The situation was becoming surreal. There was nothing more critical to her then her independence, which this man was now stripping from her.

"I don't understand, I am no one to you. I am nothing."

The Doctor approached her, "From what I've seen, Sara, you are so much more than nothing. I will not allow you to simply throw it away."

He glanced around. "I think a change of scenery is in order. We need a distraction. Has there not been one place in all of time you wanted to visit?"

"A distraction?" Sara asked in disbelief. "I just lost my entire family, you are taking my freedom, and you think taking a trip will make me forget?"

He fell silent and she could see the expression of sadness in his face. For Sara, his sorrow did not suffice. This world, to accept it as real and not fiction, was a complete anathema to her. She refused to be imprisoned in this distorted form of reality. Even if her reality was gone, what did she have to live for, being that her entire universe had been eaten away?

He was approaching her again, and in an act of desperation, she ran past him, out the sick bay door, which was thankfully open, and down the hallway. The corridor went on forever, the hallway had many doors but no access to the core, and it just seemed to continue in an infinite progression. She remembered vaguely about Clara getting lost on the ship and its multiple layers. How would she find an exit if the Doctor wouldn't allow it? The TARDIS, she knew, had a soul, but the majority of the time, the sentience acted in accordance with the doctor's wishes.

Grabbing a doorknob, she took a chance and opened it. The smell of roses permeated the air, it was unbelievable. Right before her lay a vast rose garden with petals of various shades of colors. The air in the room was distinctly more humid as if she had fully stepped into a green house. There was a narrow, cobblestone path through the middle of the garden yet these flowers dominated the entirety of the rest of the area. Deciding quickly, she ran through the rose garden and out the other door. She ended up in a wine cellar, the temperature dropped as she moved past multiple bottles of red burgundy. _Must be a favorite. _Finding another door, she recognized the library. It was cavernous, there were intricately-carved, gothic columns with shelves upon shelves of differing volumes of books.

"Amazing," she exclaimed. A book on the table caught her eye, 'The History of the Time War' was etched on the front cover embossed in gold. _The same book Clara saw. _She hesitated before opening the volume with curiosity and leafed through the pages.

A name caught her eye. It was nearly hard to decipher at first, but then she knew with a sinking sensation what it was, who that name was for. It was right there in front of her. Quickly, Sara slammed the book shut, for her own sake, she couldn't let him know she had seen it. Not that the name rolled off the tongue, but it was, regardless, imprinted in her memory.

She backed away from the book and went further into the library and down into the rows. Distantly, she heard him call out, "Sara?" He was getting closer. "Sara, look, there's no use, you will just get lost."

That was reassuring. Empty words as far as she was concerned, he considered her an oddity, something to be locked up and examined. Perhaps slightly better then being vivisected by UNIT but from where Sara was standing, not by much.

She backed further into the row down to the back wall and sank down to the floor, wrapping her hands around her knees. Around her neck, she couldn't help but hold onto the cameo locket her mother had given her from Italy about a year ago. She had always loved cameos, they were so delicate, images drawn on shells. This one had an intricate frame with all her initials and two images from Roman mythos carved on either side. _It_ didn't get erased or eaten, _it_ was here, around her neck. Hopefully, the picture of her family was still intact. She shook her head, surprised she hadn't thought of it before, and struggled to open the clasp. However, to her frustration, it was melded shut.

She tried to determine a way around the fault but the clasp remained secure, despite her prodding, and she felt tears in her eyes. All she wanted was to see the picture of her parents for just a moment. Maybe if they had been eaten out of existence, they could still be in some variation of an afterlife, in heaven, looking down on her, knowing they left a piece of them with her, and now she failed them because their one gift refused to budge.

Deep down, she knew it was a small fault, a clever jeweler could open the locket, but at that moment, it felt like a tragedy. She put her head on her knees and wept again like a small child. She wept for the parents she would never see again, the friends she never got to say goodbye to, and even her co-workers to whom she promised to bring back small trinkets from her trip. They had been good to her and now they were gone, everything had vanished.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," she murmured between her sobs. "I'm so sorry. I should have stayed." She seized a book from a shelf and threw it in her fury and desperate agony. It made a resounding echo across the floor. "I'm alone." Her body trembled. "It's my fault," she whispered. "I left you to die."

"None of this was your fault," a voice said gently. The Doctor had approached her and slowly sat down next to her. "Not a single bit."

He put his arm around her, pulling her towards him, and gently stroked her hair as she huddled beside him. "I told you about Rose."

Sara nodded briefly, she sniffed as she tried to suppress the further torrent of tears. "Bad Wolf Bay," she whispered.

"That's right, you know all about her, all from the telly," he said. "And you know about the Time War."

"I…" Sara swallowed hard. It was a future he hadn't seen. "I can't say." Gauging her words she managed, "You are less then a monster then I am."

He took her shoulders to face him, "Sara, you are not a monster."

"The dream, they were blaming me. It was real, I know it."

"No, Sara." He brushed the hair that had gotten matted to her skin. "That is not how it works, on this, you have to trust me."

Sara glanced down at her hands. "Do you think…?" She paused. Her question might seem trivial. "I mean, I know you say they were erased from existence but do you think they…?"

"They what?"

"They're in heaven? That they are in peace?" There was a desperate edge to her question, she needed some reassurance.

The Doctor took a deep breath and his eyes became distant. "I think there are a lot of things about this universe that I don't understand, Sara. I took Rose to Victorian Cardiff on our second trip where we met Charles Dickens."

"I remember, a little bit."

"There was a woman who was mildly clairvoyant and was able to open this rift, a wormhole so to speak. "

"You mean Gwyneth and the Gelth."

"Yes, they lost their physical forms in the Time War." He shook his head. "I made the mistake of taking pity on them and allowed her to make an opening. She was dead the moment the rift was exposed." He smiled briefly. "We didn't know the Gelth were evil, too many years separated from their bodies."

"She closed the gate while she was already dead."

"Some mysteries of the universe can't be explained, that's why I still travel." He stood up offering her a hand. "And that's why you should too."

She looked at the out stretched hand hesitantly.

"I don't know if I can do this, I'm not a thrill seeker. My family is gone, and I don't even have anything to bury."

"How's this?" He knelt partially down, hand still extended. "I take you to the wardrobe to find a change of clothes." He looked at her critically. "I think I cut those to tatters. You can get cleaned up and get the bandages off. Why don't we start there?"

"No time travel?"

"Not until you're ready, we'll start small."

"You won't let me go," She said faintly, twisting her necklace around in her hand absently. It was strangely ironic that this had happened to her. While, arguably, there were many who would love to be in her position, the cost was far too high. If Sara could get her world back, she would happily trade places with any of them.

"Sara," the Doctor's face was grim, that alone told Sara the answer. "One thing at a time." She reluctantly took his outstretched hand, might as well play along until an opportunity presented itself to extricate herself from this disastrous situation. "Let's just start getting you sorted out." His smile displayed the same nearly playful edge she had grown accustomed to on the show. He pulled her to her feet. "Then we'll see what happens next."

Sara bit back a retort at this remark, she already knew what happened next.


	4. Guilt

"What is this?" Sara moved forward through the door and glanced around with uncertainty.

"Your bedroom."

She wavered, the very room screamed of permanence. The paneling that covered the walls was in the same muted blue shade as the blanket that enveloped her in the sleep room. There was a bed in the similar complementary tone, and another door revealed a closet with similar style clothing she had selected from the wardrobe room. Two lamps hung straight down from the ceiling illuminating the area in diffuse glow. She turned noticing the Doctor adjusting a device with his sonic screwdriver on the panel closest to the bed. "What is that?"

"Oh this." He glanced back at her as he seemed to decide on an alternate setting. "A delta wave augmenter."

_A what? _Her expression must have betrayed her confusion for he turned to her. "When activated it helps induce restful sleep."

She shivered remembering the sleep room and shook her head in refusal, "No, thank you."

"Sara, the settings can be adjusted-"

"No!" She paced away. "The nightmares-" Sara closed her eyes. "Don't you ever sleep, ever dream?"

The question took him by surprise. Sleep, it was nearly a foreign concept when he left Gallifrey. Time Lords could go for weeks without the need for sleep. Humans had an abnormal requirement for it, which made adjusting to them as companions quite difficult.

"Of course I dream," he replied bitterly. "I-"

"Dream of home," Sara murmured, interrupting. "Me too."

"What do you know about the time war?"

The knowledge she had already demonstrated was disconcerting to him. It was still difficult for him to grasp the concept that there might have been a reality where his life was fiction. He struggled to put it into context, but all the years he spent at war had hardened him. After that, he had drifted on alone until he found Rose. It was inevitable that he would lose her in the end, better with his human clone than dead or how he left Donna. He had resolved to remain alone, never again he had sworn. But this girl had her universe destroyed by his, his victory against the Daleks came at a heavy cost, and now she was his responsibility.

The Tardis saw her as another stray he brought home, but then, he supposed, she had sensed Sara's unwillingness and had taken an interest in his newest traveler. The architectural reconfiguration system had already extrapolated the needs for his newest passenger, although she appeared reticent.

Anxiety flooded her features. "The time war," she repeated. "Just small amounts."

"Why?" He asked, "If this was entertainment, why didn't they show the war?"

"You're blaming me for why they didn't show your war?" She snapped. "I only started watching it in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper."

It was his turn to look perplexed.

"The Ninth Doctor and Rose," she explained. "The series rebooted after being off the air for nearly ten years. Nothing was really shown from the war, except for flashbacks and your recollections. I know about Rassilon, the time lock, and the Moment device." She closed her eyes in deep thought. "You never stopped counting the number of children that died that day. She said one day you would count them all, 2.6 billion, isn't that right?"

He looked at her expressionlessly. She continued, "One day you'll forget to count. The man who regrets and the man who forgets." Her face flushed instantly, she needed to exert more caution. How precarious was this universe if she were to say the wrong thing and unravel the footsteps his life needed to take. _Butterflies, I'm stepping on butterflies, how stupid._

"I'm sorry," she offered lamely. "Just forget it."

"No," he muttered. "I shouldn't have asked."

"The TARDIS can make rooms appear out of thin air," Sara pondered aloud. "Can she create images of my family?"

The Doctor shook his head, "That would be an act of cruelty."

"But it might help me to…"

"No, it wouldn't." He faced her. "You already know my one big regret is that I destroyed my home planet, billions of people to save the universe. I got it wrong. One time, I asked her the illusion too and the TARDIS refused. I wanted to see past my own regret."

Sara shook her head. "But you didn't." Her thoughts were running quickly. "You and the other…" Then her hand flew over her mouth. She nearly told him that he with his future-self saved Gallifrey. It would have been catastrophic. "Never mind," she looked away. "Sorry, wrong story. I can't keep track of things."

"No, I don't think so, what were you saying?"

"Nothing, I…" She stammered. "Well, my nightmare, I'm disoriented," she flat out lied. At least the Doctor wasn't a telepath, not without physical contact at any rate. "I get really confused, I'm sorry."

He looked circumspect and then a realization occurred to him. "Sara, I know your universe was further ahead in time than ours, so you must exercise caution."

"It was just a TV show for me anyway," she shrugged. "How do I know what was real?"

"Do know about fixed points in time?"

Sara flashed to the episode 'The Water on Mars' which should have been a fixed point in time, which he would soon decide to alter. It was the multitude of ironies that she was getting a lecture about the importance of time, now that he destroyed her reality. Inadvertently perhaps, but the damage had been done. If nothing else, maybe she could prevent him from going to Mars. If any episode had caused him to spiral, it had been that one, she in particular had detested it.

Her presence might be altering time already. The details of what she knew from the shows, should be kept guarded and, if vigilant, she could use them in such a means that he wouldn't know about her alterations.

"I can imagine," Sara sat down on the bed. "I'm not a Time Lord." She played with the chain of her cameo. "I'm human. I should have been blinked out of existence with everyone else, but I'm here with you." She looked up at him. "You have no idea how weird this is for me." She gestured to him. "You should be fiction." She put her head in her hands. "You look just like him."

"I look just like the Doctor?"

She shook her head, "The actor, David Tennant."

"Hmm, never thought of myself as an actor. What kind of parts did he play?" He was grinning despite himself, immersed in this new concept of fantasy.

"Well for one, a death eater in Harry Potter." She paused. "You have those movies here don't you?"

"Haven't seen the movies, but I loved the books, good old J.K. Rowling. I have all eleven."

"All eleven?" Sara repeated.

"Yes, all eleven books, the complete series."

_Can't believe she continued writing after she swore she was done with Harry Potter. _

"Something wrong?" The Doctor asked.

"On top of everything else?" She glanced at him. "No, it's just everything is skewed here. There were only seven novels."

"Ah, well, her descendent actually continued writing when J.K. stopped, so Harry-"

Sara raised a hand in protest. "No, stop, I don't want to know. I'd rather remember them as they were."

"That's up to you." He moved until he was sitting down next to her on the bed. "So, he played a death eater?"

His excitement seemed palpable that it was somewhat infectious and Sara permitted herself a small smile. "Yes, in book four, The Goblet of Fire."

"Oh, I loved that book." He turned to her. "One of my favorites."

Sara shrugged. "It was a break through role of sorts." She paused. "For him."

"What else did he play?"

"A stage performer in Las Vegas who was forced to fight a vampire. He also played Hamlet." She started to trace the patterns of the bed spread. "Jess and I had tickets to see David Tennant perform in Richard II. I was so excited. Of course, she didn't have a clue who that was."

"Why not?"

"Not a fan of Harry Potter or the BBC, I guess." Sara hesitated. "She was also deployed to Iraq for over a year so I can't really blame her."

"So you were a fan of his before you saw this as a show?" He gestured around him.

Sara sighed, "I guess. I think as much as anyone was in the UK. Of course, I'm American, not as much of a fan base there." She flicked her eyes around the room. "Why did this have to be real? It's ridiculous, it's like thinking Harry Potter is real."

"I suppose from your linear perspective, that would be the case."

"_My_ linear perspective?" Sara felt slighted.

"You need to accept this as reality now," he said.

She started to turn away from him with an expression of outright refusal. He was familiar with all the stages of grief that humans readily had to experience in times of mourning. Had he not experienced those emotions himself? But he could sense the denial the girl was clinging to, rather than trying to come to terms with where she was. If the Chameleon Arch wasn't specifically programed to alter the DNA of a species as well as memories, he might consider using it on her to fashion a new life without the burden of the grief she carried with her.

But no, it was way too risky and too many things could go wrong. It had only been used on Time Lords, and while he might be able to change the settings, he didn't want to experiment on a human, especially not one with such dense amounts of concentrated energy inside, for which all he knew could cause tears in his reality.

The only other alternative was a memory wipe to remove all traces of her existence in the other reality. Of course, those moments comprised the vast majority of who she was and would be an even worse fate than killing her. The best thing for her was to get her to accept her circumstances.

"Had I let you jump, you would have died, you were lucky you were soaked in void matter, I was able to find you."

"Lucky," she echoed numbly. "And now what's your plan?" She asked.

"Who says I have a one?"

Sara thought for a moment. "Because if you don't, then why bother with me?"

"Maybe I was lonely." It wasn't a complete lie. Life without companions was discernibly different. He could feel the void where their presence had been, but he hadn't been searching for a replacement either. Now the circumstances had changed, for better or for worse.

"Liar, what happened to not needing anyone?" She became frustrated. "Doctor, I know what you did to Donna."

She could see regret flicker across his expression before it vanished, "She's fine."

"Fine?" Sara repeated, "You essentially lobotomized her and she's fine?"

"Oi!" He protested. "That is not what happened."

"How would you know?" She insisted. "Wipe minds a lot, do you?"

He stood, rounding on her. "I could see her mind burning right before my eyes. Have you a better option?"

"Off the top of my head, yes! It's called free will! Did you ever think about offering her a choice?" Sara asked.

"What?" He looked astounded by the suggestion. "A choice?"

"You took away the person she became, some might choose real death over that."

"No." He was adamant. "I couldn't just let her die."

"You wouldn't," Sara said. "But sometimes, it's not all about you. _People_ need to decide for themselves."

"If your best friend was dying, and you could save her, what would you do?"

"My best friend is already dead, erased from existence. So it hardly matters, doesn't it?"

"I'm over nine hundred years old. Donna was my responsibility, and she took in a Time Lord consciousness. That was never meant to happen. I did what had to be done."

"And then Davros was right, the best of Donna died anyway. How many times did she say 'no' to you, Doctor?" Sara asked. "Did you listen?" She was overwhelmed by her own fury at her predicament. At the same time, venting her anger took her mind off the pain. "What about your other companions?" She stood up pushing past him. "Oh wait, they're all gone now."

His expression hardened, and she swallowed mentally cursing herself for getting carried away. Her desperation to escape this nightmare led her to antagonize a man she knew was capable of being singularly very dangerous on his own. Time Lords weren't heroes, even in her reality, she recognized him as an anti-hero, barely one step removed from a villain. Many argued against her in his favor but seeing his face now, in the pit of her stomach, she knew she had been right all along.

"I get it, Sara. You don't want to be here, you want to go home. You're clinging to your idea of that reality and trying to set me off so I will let you go." He took her arm, pulling her forward. "That is not going to work with me." She gasped. "You're too dangerous to wander free. The damage you could do to the universe, I won't risk it."

He released her suddenly, and she backed away from him quickly.

"I didn't ask for this," she mumbled to herself.

"I know. I'm still here with you, and I won't leave you on a street corner or in the hands of UNIT."

"Doctor…" Her voice faded off. She didn't know what to say and he was right. She had tried to infuriate him to get him to kick her off the Tardis, perhaps an immature and not well thought out approach, but she remembered him losing his patience and threatening his companions with just that before. These measures weren't working.

"We need a change of scenery, some fresh air."

Sara was startled at this and turn around. "You'll let me go outside?" The mere possibility was a welcome one. She still had the maps of London in her purse, and she was a fast runner. Playing a forward on her college soccer team didn't count for nothing. After all, she had managed to elude the Doctor in a sprint, which forced him to use other means to find her.

"When I get us there, of course," he watched as disappointment seemed to mar her features. It was a strange twist of fate, if he believed in such things. Most of his companions would do anything to stay, Donna nearly died in the endeavor. This one wanted nothing more then to leave. _Some people can't take it. _

_No_. He banished that stray thought away. A few trips and she would start to come around and find her adventurous side, he would ensure it.

"Where?" Sara demanded.

"Can't I just surprise you?"

She glanced at him. His expression held hers and she felt a tinge of regret. She was blaming him fiercely for an accident, and it wasn't quite fair. But he had been a convenient target, he was there.

His insistence on controlling her was aggravating because she valued her own self-control dearly. But he did show her compassion at a time when she was considerably vulnerable. Still, she couldn't help but partially blame him for her situation, since it was the result of the reality bomb that had caused this backlash into her universe, eradicating it from existence. Sara was left to pick up the crumbs of what remained of her life.

_Imagine, you're living any Doctor Who fan's greatest dream by becoming his companion. _Although while watching the series, she had thought the prospect would be exciting, she also considered the mark he left on his companions. Scar tissue that never fully healed. Rose likely had been the best off, all things considered, notwithstanding having spent two years in relative misery because of her enforced separation. Donna had her memory wiped, while Martha, an aspiring and promising medical student, had become a soldier. She even remembered the Doctor expressing regret for destroying half her life. _At least it was only half._

Sara pondered what to do regarding the Doctor's future companions, Amy and Rory, who had their share of suffering, their newborn was snatched out of their arms within minutes and used as a weapon. Then there was Clara who willingly sacrificed herself for the Doctor as her echoes appeared in different parts of the Doctor's life. Those echoes caused the Doctor to seek her out and drag her along in his adventures until Clara threw herself into his time stream. Clara was likely a paradox and once solved, she would be sent back onto the TARDIS holding a cooked turkey, watching it disappear.

To her consternation, there might be little she could do to offset the suffering these companions had to endure. They could all be fixed points in times where nothing she did would make the slightest difference. Her limited knowledge of science fiction and time travel came from watching 'Doctor Who' and 'Back to the Future.' She never felt required to take notes.

Of course, for now, knowledge was her best defense. A part of her would have loved to pick his mind about Amy, Rory, and Clara, but what if she damaged this universe by her carelessness just as he damaged hers? That guilt would be a heavy price to pay.

"Fine," Sara backed down. "Surprise me."

He finally led her to the core of the Tardis. She couldn't help but be duly impressed. Hexagonal in shape, large columns that nearly resembled living trees twisting from the floor to the room with the control panel directly in the middle. She watched the Doctor making adjustments and swiftly clung to the railing as the Tardis shuddered and gave a jolt.

"All normal turbulence," he said reassuringly. "I'm just activating the Vortex Primer and the directional unit to accept new space time coordinates so dematerialization can be a little shaky-"

"Right," Sara said. "Of course, why didn't I think of that?"

"The fantastic thing is that the Tardis was created using block transfer mathematics, which is what gives the machine its sentience. She can calculate some of the coordinates on her own but as a Time Lord, I can calculate Epsilon Coordinates in my head."

"And that's how you travel through time?"

"In part, once the molecular dematerialization codes are in place."

"Doctor, no offense, but I only made it through calculus and I have no idea of what you just said."

He smiled, "Well, no, you wouldn't. You're only human. Your limited minds aren't capable of understanding any of this. The most basic equation I could come to explaining this is Einstein's theory of relativity."

She scowled, "So you're showing off, reminding me how none of us could possibly match your intelligence. So again, why am I here?"

"Well for one, you're absolutely brilliant. When I heard you escaped from UNIT, I knew it right then." He chucked, "To outwit the Captain. I would have enjoyed seeing her face."

"They consult you, but they built a Tardis-free room that you can't enter. Ever wonder why?"

The Doctor sighed, "Mixing human stupidity with technology.

He twisted another lever, and the shuddering stopped. "Ready to go?"

Surprises were never Sara's forte, but the opportunity to leave the Tardis was too difficult to resist. If their venture was at least on Earth, that alone would bring a sensation of relief. He might think a different time period would baffle her, but he underestimated her desire for independence and her refusal to simply believe in the reality of this situation.

Her head pounded and she glanced down at her hands. Briefly, in the lights streaming from the differing axis points around the core of the Tardis, they nearly seemed to emanate with a diffuse glow.

She shook her head and blinked. Nothing, the glow had vanished, leaving no trace of the effect behind. She turned her hands over, for a moment, she felt dizzy and reached to clutch the rail in support.

"Whoa, you alright?" The Doctor had grasped her elbow, preventing her from toppling over.

"Yes, I'm just-" She paused, thinking hard. Just what? Just seeing things? At that rate, she would never get off this thing. No, she needed a better reason.

"I'm just adjusting," Sara managed to finish. He looked at her suspiciously nevertheless and removed his sonic screwdriver. "No really-" She tried to back away in protest, but the hand on her elbow held firm.

Although his screwdriver didn't offer as thorough a diagnostic as his sickbay ADT implemented, it still gave him the assessment he needed to determine whether she was stable. He noted a neurochemical imbalance as he completed his scan but all things considered, that was relatively normal since her sleep cycle had been interrupted.

"Not to worry," he said. "You're fine." He would adjust the delta wave augmenter himself later to fix the problem. _Humans are so stubborn. _The walk would certainly tire her, and she would never be the wiser. He slipped the screwdriver back into his pocket.

He still retained a firm grip on her elbow as they approached the door. She attempted to shake it off.

"I can follow you just fine by myself."

"I believe you can, but I don't trust that you will."

Reluctantly, she conceded to his grasp, and he pushed the door open. Instantly she recognized Paris by the significance of the Eiffel Tower directly in the distance and wrinkled her nose at the memory. Her previous stay in Paris had been a fiasco. The hotel had accidentally deleted her reservation and made her wait three hours for it be fixed. Other individuals in Paris seemed downright rude. This was definitely considered an unpleasant surprise.

"What is it?" The Doctor asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just a bit overwhelmed," she said lamely. It was a poor excuse, but being outside in Paris beat not being outside at all.

They started to walk down the Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe.

She could tell by the cars and the state of the buildings that this wasn't modern day Paris. Couples that passed by looked baffled by Sara and the Doctor seeming to examine them from head to toe. Their attire was drastically different. Sara felt distinctly out of place wearing another pair of jeans and a short-sleeved shirt while many of the women were dressed in skirts reminiscent of the flapper era. _When was that?_

She turned to the Doctor, "What year is it?"

"1928, it's a fantastic year, right before the Great Depression. You're seeing the rise of the art deco influence on architecture. " He gestured to the people milling about. "This was called 'les annees folles' which means- "

"The crazy years."

"You know your history," he seemed impressed.

"I took four years of French in high school," she explained.

"Well right now, George Gershwin is staying at the Majestic Hotel, so if we're just a bit lucky, we might be able to meet him."

"Sorry, who?"

"George Gershwin!" The Doctor stopped and turned to her with a look of exasperation. "He's a brilliant American composer, pianist, and wrote several Broadway plays in the 1920's and 1930's. He just might be composing 'An American in Paris' right now."

"Doctor, no offense. I've never been to New York, and I've never seen a show on Broadway. This happened well before I was born."

"Leonardo Da Vinci happened before you were born, but you still know who he is."

Sara raised her eyebrows. "That's just a tad different, don't you think?"

The Doctor emitted a sigh and shook his head. She heard him muttering to himself about Americans and ignorance.

Sara gritted her teeth in impatience. "Excuse me, I'm standing right here! I can actually hear you when you are talking to yourself as opposed to-" She had to cut herself off. _This is infuriating. _

He glanced at her sharply wandering whether the old adage was true. _Does misery really love company or does it just bring more misery?_

Her bladder was starting to protest. _Finally, one good thing._ She looked up at the Doctor. "I need to use the bathroom."

The Doctor to her relief seemed compliant. He guided her into a restaurant, flashing his psychic paper, claiming to be a renowned food critic. Sara rolled her eyes as the staff seemed to panic at his unexpected presence. He pointed in the direction of the facilities. "I'll be watching the door," he warned but didn't seem otherwise perturbed at the thought of Sara being left to her own devices once inside. She decided not to question it. She raced inside, only briefly taking notice that the room offered no other means of departure and relieved herself. As she emerged from her stall, she was forced to stifle a scream.

A creature stood in front of the stall, one she was familiar with, an Ood. She remembered they had been enslaved en masse and had managed to turn against their oppressors. To those they considered friends, like the Doctor, they had provided insight and guidance. For him, they even offered prophecy, although the future they foresaw for him was indeed a bleak one.

But this didn't make sense, why was this one here? They weren't meant to be seen until after the Mars episode, and from what she could tell, he hadn't been there yet. Yet this one appeared to her rather than to the Doctor.

"Sara," he said softly. "You were unexpected."

Her voice started to shake, "I shouldn't be here."

"There are many 'heres,' but I see your 'here' has collapsed."

Sara struggled to hold onto her emotions. "What do you want from me?"

"You were unexpected but welcome, look to your choice for the end of time."

"What choice?"

"We will all sing for you when you're ready, the choice is yours."

"I don't understand."

The door opened of the bathroom opened and two women came in. Sara, startled glanced at them. She turned back to the Ood, only to find that he had disappeared.

She approached the mirror. "What choice?" She leaned heavily against the sink.

Her reflection offered no answers.

**A/N: I wanted to thank Fan Fiction Authoress for helping Beta my revisions. Please check out her new story located in the same community.**


	5. Targets

Sara pushed open the door of the bathroom and leaned against the adjacent wall, numbly staring off into space. _What did they mean 'choice,' what 'choice?'_ She glanced around, seeing the Doctor down the entrance way apparently distracted talking to the maître d'. The situation with the Ood only confirmed her anxiety, she wasn't meant to be here. Her mere presence around him was already causing interference. How could she possibly trust a hallucination?

How could she possibly be certain she still wasn't dreaming now? All of these strange articles that appeared could be one long illusion. The presence of the Ood should then spark some hope in her rather than the flashes of fear she was contending with.

She took a deep breath. _Hope, yes, hope. This is just a fantasy, it has to be. This…_

Her thoughts were interrupted. "You were gone a while." The Doctor approached her. "I didn't want to have to look for you in there myself, it would have been awkward."

"Why bother?" She asked bitterly. "There wasn't another way out." She was startled when he suddenly clasped her hand firmly.

"Sara, there is a rule I give to all my companions," he stated as she pulled her hand away. "Don't wander off."

"Probably a nicer way of saying 'I'm in charge,'" Sara commented reflecting briefly on the seventh Doctor's rules for his companions. Of course, for her, companion implied willing participation, she was frankly tired of the idiom. If he wanted company, he should adopt a cat and leave her out of this mess. _Although, you would have to feel sorry for the cat. _

"I'm serious." He watched her giving him that familiar obstinate expression. He understood her anger and her recalcitrance, but equally, it frustrated him. He was taking responsibility for her predicament and not leaving her in the hands of others to be vivisected. Perhaps he expected some small measure of gratitude that he was attempting to do right by her. He sighed. _Maybe it's too soon for that. _He decided to change tactics. "Are you hungry?"

"Excuse me?" Sara was baffled by his sudden change in topic.

"You haven't eaten for nearly a day." He gestured to the maître d'. "They are offering dinner on the house."

She scowled remembering the psychic paper informing the restaurant that he was a food critic. "You lied."

"Most of the time," he explained. "Wouldn't do well to refuse them, now could I?"

"Yes, you could." She shook her head. "And no, I'm not hungry."

"Well, that's a bit of a shame, because I am."

Before she knew it, he had taken her elbow and they were being guided to a table outside close to the Champs Elysees. For her, it was the height of embarrassment as the restaurant crowd seemed to scrutinize them. Evidently the Doctor's false credentials had led them to speculate about the pair. Sara wished she could disappear. Across from her, the Doctor seemed to be reveling in his new identity, even offering pointers to patrons sitting close by on which plate to try.

When a server brought a bottle of red burgundy, she was struck by an idea. He wanted a distraction, who was Sara to turn down such a request? He turned to her as their wine glasses were being filled, "1925, a decent year."

She feigned ignorance. "I didn't know you had a taste for wine." If she hadn't run through the wine cellar, she might very well not have known, although she didn't know what his eleventh version would do, considering his known distaste for it. It puzzled her, the eleventh Doctor had more food dislikes then his previous incarnations. _Must be similar to hormones. _

"Oh, I've enjoyed a glass every now and then, since my second regeneration."

She shrugged. "I have never been into pinot noirs myself. I tend to find cabernets more to my liking."

"Ooh, very good, I'm impressed. You're from the west coast right?"

"Seattle."

He leaned forward. "I could take you to the vineyards in the south of France and in Italy. Have you ever been to Tuscany?"

Sara's thoughts went to her parents and their visits to Europe. She glanced down at the cameo she wore, the last vestige of her parents. She swallowed with difficulty. "My parents visited, but I didn't go." Carefully, she unhooked the necklace. "My mother brought this back for me from Italy, but I can't open it, and there's a picture of them in it-"

There was pity clearly visible in his eyes as he looked at her, and then glanced down at her necklace. Sara traced the image on the shell reverently. The distraction was working, the problem was she nearly believed in it too.

"If we can find a jeweler that can open-"

"There's no need for that when I'm here, you should have just asked me before." He swiftly removed his sonic screwdriver and with the same hand reached for the jewelry. As his grip weakened on the tool to take the necklace, Sara seized the device, jumped up, knocking over her chair, and ran.

"Sara!" He sounded furious. "Get back here!"

She turned the corner onto the main Champs Elysees, heading away from the Arc De Triomphe. Somehow she still had her cameo necklace in her hand, good. Spotting a garbage can on the side of the street, she dumped the device. She had no use for the thing, but the Doctor would have to waste some precious minutes finding it, and she knew she could outpace him on foot. Turning again on Saint Chappelle, she passed the Louvre. She needed an alternate plan to break herself free from this perceptual Limbo.

This entire fiasco was surreal, but how could her dreams be so tangible? How could she feel the dull ache in her lungs, her fatigued muscles, and her exhaustion? But then, she was having hallucinations, and those couldn't be real. "God, why won't you just let me wake up?" She protested. "Why can't this be a dream?" She nearly came to a stop as she begged the empty sky, "Please!" There was no answer, and tears were burning in her eyes.

She was rounding another corner, when she nearly made collision with an Ood.

She stopped, staring blankly at him. "Oh, not again," she said in desperation. "I'm dreaming, or I'm going mad."

"We are here to help Sara."

"Help, how is this helping?" Sara asked, pressing her hands against her forehead. "The Doctor, go find him."

"We sing a song of harmony for him, but now your journeys are aligned."

"I don't want it, I just want to go home."

"For many of us, we will take the long way home. You think you're lost."

"Is my universe really gone?" She asked plaintively, Sara hadn't wanted to concede this defeat, but a small part of her wondered if she was running from the truth. If she were dreaming, surely, she would have woken up by now.

The Ood gestured expressively. "We felt them drift away, just as we felt your arrival, but nothing is really destroyed. It just changes. Just like our song can change from one harmony to another."

"I don't understand."

"That is wise for now. One day, the door will open and you will understand. For now, it is better to have what little you know."

"You said I have a choice."

"In time, but now someone is calling your name."

_Crap._

"Wait, what?" She said and turned around to examine the street. "You stalled me?" She turned back, only to find that the Ood had disappeared.

Her arm was seized, the Doctor's expression was cold. "You and me, back to the box, _now_."

She stumbled as he walked quickly down the road. "I gave you one rule, and you chose not to follow it. You know how dangerous it is," he vented. "I'm not the only time traveler, you could have been taken by anyone, and you dumped my screwdriver in the trash!"

"At least it wasn't into the Seine," Sara retorted.

"Which is why the Tardis can make replacements."

_I should have known. The Tardis and its self- replicating rooms, furniture, and phones, it was too easy._

And she had allowed the Ood to delay her.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I don't want any part in this! I know your companions think that traveling with you is like winning the lottery, but _I_ don't."

"I didn't ask, you are my responsibility."

"I know your future, Doctor," Sara tried. "I can safely say that you'll be fine without me."

He stopped and turned towards her. "This isn't about me, Sara. I didn't pick you up, because you're a fortune teller."

"Then why?"

"The dense amount of energy you carry, if other species find and learn to use it, that alone could start a war, and I won't allow it to happen."

"I'm a weapon?"

"Possibly, I'm still analyzing your scans myself. "

Sara shook her head. "If I die, they can't use me as a weapon." She said, "You knew that when I was about to jump off the bridge."

"What happened to your universe was a direct result of actions that took place in ours. You are the last survivor of your reality, and I won't let you die." He was adamant.

The walk continued in strained silence.

"So now what?" Sara asked. "Am I grounded? Are you going to lock me in my room?"

He sighed, stopped walking and with all the authority of a time lord looked Sara in the eyes. "Perhaps I wasn't clear enough before," he said slowly. Humans could be a little dense when overwhelmed. And Sara was definitely having a hard time with this. "So, I'll explain it a little clearer this time. You are never to leave my sight without my permission. You are not to wonder off, or run away, or willfully break my rules. You are in my custody, my responsibility. Trust me when I say you don't want to force me to lock you up in the Tardis for the rest of your life." He paused to let what he'd said sink in. "We are going to finish eating." Leading her by the elbow, he turned and began leading them back to the restaurant. "And Sara," he added, "no second chances. I mean it. I'm that sort of a man. Don't make me change my mind. I don't want to lock you inside."

She gave off an indifferent shrug. "What difference would it make?"

Obstinate. He couldn't mean what he said. Locking someone inside the Tardis for decades was a fate he considered for the Master. Not for her. She certainly did nothing to deserve it.

"The difference is that there are places I can take you outside your limited human perspective." He gestured around. "Haven't you even taken notice or appreciated where you are?"

"We are in Paris, I've been here before."

"In the 1920's?"

"Same city, less buildings."

"I see I will have to do more to impress you, maybe a trip to Mars-"

"NO!" She shook her head in refusal. That episode was one of the worst for her to watch. She detested movies where zombies were the principal villains, and she could recall only too well the blank look of the scattered few that survived, only to watch the bomb count down to their death.

That was, until the Doctor broke his own rule given that it was a fixed point in time, just to save one of the 'big people,' only for her to shoot herself in her own home to contain the damage to reality. It was an ugly thing to watch, and Sara wondered what the point was of having him go at all. If he didn't, history would be equally satisfied and that poor woman would have died heroically, rather than in her dining room where her family surely must have been horrified.

She would think of something, tell him she had an aversion or anything rather than endure that event or worse, end up as one of those creatures.

"What's wrong with Mars?"

"I, well, I-" Sara stumbled. "I don't like the color." It was one of the most ridiculous statements she had made thus far, but surely a man who has regenerated as much as he did and was invariably picky about the color of his hair or organs, might accept this all in stride.

"You don't like the color," the Doctor deadpanned.

"Yes, it makes me queasy," Sara explained. "It's way too bright."

"Sara, that makes no sense. Mars is fantastic, it has-"

"-a lot of dirt and rocks. I would rather see people."

A knowing expression came to his face. "You watched a visit of mine over there, is that right?" His expression seemed patronizing. "And now you're afraid to take a chance."

"I just don't want to go there." She shuddered. "Please, that is the truth."

He was bewildered by her reaction. Of course, she could be making a possible prediction, but her face betrayed evident fear. Perhaps, in her universe, she had seen one too many films at the cinema, and it had colored her perception. The real Mars was a fascinating planet, and, perhaps, once he got her off the Tardis, she would realize her fears were groundless. That was what he would do but not right away, she needed to calm down. A jittery companion needed some extra hand-holding before trying to challenge her to such an ingrained phobia as the one she had.

They returned to the table where, despite the fact she found the meal savory, Sara couldn't finish half of what was on her plate. Finally, she gave up, pushing it away.

"No dessert?" He inquired.

"Doctor…" Sara protested.

"You barely ate anything."

"I told you, I'm not hungry."

"We can wait until you are."

She scowled. "You'll be waiting a while."

He shrugged. "I have a time machine, we have all the time we need."

'All the time we need.'

Yes, the Doctor had all the time he needed, perhaps. Sara was faced with the daunting proposition of being imprisoned in this twisted reality with a man, no, a _Time Lord _who was already partially insane. Sure, many of her friends who no longer existed tempered the word 'mad' with 'eccentric,' but still...

She had stopped seeing him as David Tennant. Although in appearance, he looked every inch the actor, the resemblance ceased there. She had seen David Tennant interviewed, their personalities hardly mirrored each other. Now all she saw when she looked at the Doctor was a stranger she didn't fully understand.

She knew his name.

The knowledge was accidental, and she would keep that piece of information private. In this universe, there seemed to be such power associated with the name of this particular Time Lord. She already had a target on her back, there was no advantage to adding another.

**A/N I want to thank my beta, Fan Fiction Authoress for her edits and LovelyAmberLight for some of her key suggestions in dialogue for this chapter.**


	6. Journey

Sara felt queasy as the Doctor, took her arm and led her back to the TARDIS who by all accounts was a stranger to her. All she knew of him was from TV, yet how could that compare to the reality she was experiencing right now.

_Some surprise this turned out to be_. Paris still left her with a distinctly unpleasant taste in her mouth but she was hardly surprised that he chose this as a destination given his propensity for use of French phrases.

In contrast to London, Paris was ostentatious. The buildings appeared designed to imitate differing ornate, flowery wedding cakes. It was garish and overdone. She attributed it to the Baroque style. _Cannot have too much of a good thing_. If one building looks well in it, then all must have it. Although, she supposed by glancing around, she could spot the rise of some of the Art Deco as he mentioned coming into play. She was undecided if this was indeed an improvement or not.

She felt a distinct revulsion. Of all the places he would take her to and this was considered a treat? _Maybe for him. Definitely not for me._

"You don't like Paris, do you?" He had seen the perpetual look of distaste she had done poorly to hide on her face all evening. His attempts to impress his reluctant companion were proving a frustrating endeavor especially given the fact that she did not seem inclined to be impulsive or adventurous. For his other companions, it had been a prerequisite to traveling with him. Either they could handle the unexpected or they couldn't. The majority adjusted given this new opportunity.

But this one was a difficult case. She didn't think it was worth it. He remembered the fear in her eyes when he mentioned the possibility of going to Mars. It seemed displaced. She likely had a fear of traveling to any planet off world but if he could force her out of her safety zone, she just might realize it was worth it. For now, the next trip or two, he would stay in her comfort zone. Then he would force her to confront this little phobia so she could see how irrational it was.

She gazed at him stonily and answered him with a shrug.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Sara thought back to his companions who often left the choice of destinations into his hands. Poor Clara instead of ending up in Las Vegas ended up in a Russian submarine in the midst of a cold war. How would Sara know if she faired any better? She considered herself lucky to still be on this planet and not in the midst of a warzone. At least she wasn't around to face the aliens on Platform One. With her luck, she would probably end up in the room with the descending sun filter.

"I thought you wanted to surprise me." She finally responded. "Why does it matter anyway?"

The Doctor ground to a halt and examined her. "It matters to me. I am doing my best-"

"Your best? My world is gone." Admitting this was difficult. She had to concede into her own worst nightmare. Denial seemed like such a more welcoming state to inhabit.

"And I am really sorry."

"You're sorry. Do you actually mean it?" Sara asked bitterly. "How often did you tell your companions you were sorry? Oh that's right, one doesn't even remember you. How could she possibly be upset?"

"I-"

"At least _most _of them still live in their dimension unlike some of us."

Sara's grief over her losses, her obliterated dimension, had turned to fury. Maybe this man had saved worlds in this reality but the costs along the way had also been staggering. Why did she have to be the only survivor?

The emotions she saw in him were in degrees. Anger. Confusion. Remorse. Pity.

She yanked her arm free from him but made no attempts to run. There didn't seem to be a point in fleeing and where exactly would she go? Of course she resented losing her sense of independence. She had worked diligently for it, put in years of time and effort and for what? It was stripped away in the blink of an eye because the Doctor had to be in charge. His rule, no matter how he phrased it or what body he had was the same. _What happened to free will_? She was human. Even his companions had that choice. Maybe that was the crux of the matter. She wasn't a simply a fellow traveler. She was a prisoner and an object of interest. A mystery.

She wondered whether if Clara had truly refused to go if the Doctor would have respected her choice. No. Clara was a paradox. Her choice had already been made.

"Sara, I can't bring that universe back. It has been overwritten."

"Why couldn't I be overwritten too?"

"You don't care about your life at all?"

She sighed. "That's a good question. Let me ask you one. Did you care for your life before or after you blew up Gallifrey?"

He was taken aback. "Because that is what it is like for me except I didn't have a 'big red, friendly button' and a machine with a conscious sitting in judgment. Perhaps it would have made it easier." She snapped.

He was perplexed "A conscious?" She was trying to get under his skin again but this was new. The Galaxy Eater as the Gallifreyian council so aptly named it was locked in the Omega Arsenal until he stole it. Although the Ancients of Gallifrey created it long before, it had been whispered that he, the Doctor had a hand in creating the device.

The notion disgusted him. Yes, he used it but only because his hand was forced. Rassilon had perpetuated this rumor so the council turned their back on reason, deciding to go ahead with the Final Sanction. What else was he supposed to do? Let Rassilon destroy the entire universe? In the war, he couldn't possibly be the Doctor if these were the choices he had to make. Destroy his planet or watch his universe burn.

"Yes, the 'moment' had a conscious. You were talking to…" She glanced up at him and noticed his confusion. _He's not supposed to remember. The timelines haven't caught up._

"Sara, what are you talking about?" He asked. "It was a weapon. Nothing more. Gallifrey is gone." His voice was distant. "I don't know how I survived. I regenerated and it was done."

_So stupid of me. _It was foolish of her like this. He wasn't supposed to know until years later. The Moment device had the ability to time lock and alter the perception of the event. His conversation with the concious of the Moment had been stricken from his mind otherwise Rose would have surely struck a chord with him once they had first met.

He looked at her knowingly. "You know what happened that day." Whether she was psychic or had seen accounts of this on the television in her reality was becoming a moot point. The knowledge she already displayed had a tremendous amount of accuracy. His memory of that day was hazy given that he regenerated soon thereafter. What harm would it do to have her fill in the gaps now since the event lay in the past. "Tell me."

"No, it was nothing." She lied quickly. "I was making things up." She looked away. "I'm sorry."

"I doubt that." He was suspicious. "If there is something I should remember…"

What a mess. What was she thinking? She had been ranting and gave him information out of order. Where was her self-control? She thought briefly of River Song and her diary. Maybe she too should request one so she wasn't spilling facts ahead of time. At least, when she met River, there would be a sympathetic ear. Sara could do nothing to change her fate. It was another stinking paradox. She never knew how much she would grow to hate that word.

"I can't." She said finally. "You warned me and I can't." He looked frustrated momentarily but attempted to reign in his curiosity. "It's complicated."

Sara wasn't particularly certain if it was safe to say it was a paradox. It was perplexing. Her memory wasn't eidetic but at the same time, neither was his. Sherlock Holmes, he was not. Not precisely. _And why couldn't I be stuck in that universe baiting the modern Sherlock instead? _Idle thoughts. Truth be told, it was possible that Sherlock would be bored with her after twenty minutes.

The Doctor seemed to appraise her. "I'll take your word for it."

She felt a brief sense of relief. One crisis averted. The Doctor appeared thoughtful.

"Why don't I let you choose our next destination." It was a gesture of reconciliation. If he could work on gaining her trust, then this would be less arduous on the both of them.

It was becoming far too chilly and she shivered. She wrapped her arms around herself in order to retain warmth. Without a word, the Doctor removed his tan overcoat and draped it around her shoulders.

The gesture felt a bit awkward for Sara as she often considered herself more resilient in terms of the weather but the last two days had done nothing for her self-confidence. She thanked him mutely and when he beckoned, she followed him back to the Tardis unrestrained. There was little point in running in circles. What she needed to determine was why she was suddenly receiving visits from the Ood? Obviously her presence was already changing the timeline.

They were appearing to her, which posed a frightening dilemma. _Should I tell the Doctor?_ She remained decidedly uncertain. She weighed the options. If she told him, he might take to examining her further; confining her indoors and possibly entering into her mind to evaluate the Ood's message. The thought of that alone made her sick.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She glanced up, thinking quickly. He had asked a destination. There was one place she wanted to go. It wasn't extravagant but she felt compelled to visit. An answer of some kind awaited her there.

"Donna Noble."

"Pardon?" He said, looking perplexed.

"You asked me where I would like to go. You said I could choose the destination. I would like to see her."

"Sara, if she remembers me or the TARDIS, even for an instant…"

"Her mind will burn?" Sara finished. "Yes, I know that already. "

"It's too risky…"

"She didn't even know you when she woke up after your lobot.-," Sara swallowed the word. "Memory removal."

He looked uncertain.

"You installed a safety mechanism in her mind, remember? "

He sighed. "What do you expect from her? You can't tell her anything."

They had approached the TARDIS. He was unlocking the door.

"I know. I just think there is something she needs me to hear."

He frowned but beckoned her inside. "Most companions want to see the future, other planets or the Renaissance but no, not you."

"I'm not most people." Sara replied as he closed the door and headed to the console.

He maneuvered the navigational slide control to activate the dematerialization sequence and then looked analytically at her. "Well, that's more then obvious. You're something all together quite unique." She felt the ship jolt beneath her and she clutched the railing while carefully removing his coat, offering it back to him. He approached her and accepted the item. "All that energy inside you. It's not just void material but something else as well. The nature of it…" He paused and suddenly took her hand, startling her. "Quite beautiful actually."

_If only he talked to Rose this way_. She thought with a measure of disgust. "Doctor," She tried to grasp his attention.

"I think I know a Sontaran refuge. Marshal Stave owes me a favor…"

"Doctor, I am not a petri dish." She jerked away from him and walked to the jump seat on the other end of the console and sat down. "I am also not your companion. That would imply I am here by choice." She jammed her hands into her pockets in defiance, wincing briefly as her left hand made sudden contact with a sharp object. Lifting the item out, she breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't believe she nearly forgotten it. _My cameo. _She must of jammed it into her pocket as she ran. It hadn't fallen out on the streets of Paris. It was safe. She turned swiftly putting it around her neck. _I won't take it off again._

"Sara…"

"No." She shook her head. "I don't want to hear how sorry you are."

_I suppose I deserve that. _He decided to change tactics and approached her putting his hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him but didn't immediately recoil. It was a good first step.

"I'm not. I can tell you that you have an opportunity."

"To do what?" She asked dully.

"To matter. I know your universe is gone but this one is still here and you can make a difference. There is a reason you're here."

She thought briefly of the Oods. "Accidents."

"That you alone survived? I doubt you believe that." There was something closeted in her expression. What precisely was she hiding? The very fact that wanted to visit Donna demonstrated to him that she had a goal she was either unwilling or uncertain of confiding in him.

"So fate blinked everyone else I knew out of existence and preserved me? That's reassuring."

"Why do you want to see Donna Noble?" He attempted to delve into the heart of the matter.

Sara tilted her head. "Curiosity."

What other words could she give? Intuition? Instinct?

He shook his head in apparent frustration. Eventually she would be forced to trust him. Considering the circumstances, he resolved to be patient. "I suppose we'll see, won't we? We're here."

Opening the door, he turned to her. "You understand the circumstances? She can't remember anything."

"I actually have seen that episode more then once." She said with a measure of antipathy. _And I longed to slap you across the face for it._

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. I remember."

The Tardis was parked perpendicular to the house and they made their way to the front door. The Doctor rang the bell.

Wilfred Mott answered and frowned as he looked at the Doctor and then to Sara.

He spoke softly. "Doctor, is everything all right? Donna is in the next room." Glancing again at Sara. "Who is this."

"Wilfred, how are you?" The Doctor asked. He attempted to smile. The measure was hardly a reassuring one. "This is my newest…" He paused as Sara glared up at him. "This is Sara Thomas."

Wilfred stepped outside onto the porch. "I was worried about you, traveling alone out there after…" His voice seemed to fail. Sara could feel the emotions radiate off the man. She pondered what it must have been like for this man to have his granddaughter returned in such a manner. Obviously, he was caught between his admiration and the grief for the part of Donna that was lost.

"I'm sorry." Sara said. "None of it was fair."

Wilfred looked at her. "He told you?" Glancing to the Doctor quizzically.

She shrugged. "In a manner of speaking."

"Wilfred, we would like to speak with Donna for a few minutes." The Doctor said.

Wilfred frowned. "But you said we had to be careful. Any reminder…"

"And we won't. There is a safety mechanism in place." The Doctor appeared flustered. "I would like to see how she is adjusting."

_Liar. Always with the lies. _Sara thought.

"Adjusting?"

"Actually, it's me." Sara intervened. "The Doctor asked me where I would like to go and I said I wanted to meet Donna."

Wilfred looked at her utterly baffled. "I'm glad he's not traveling alone but aren't there more interesting places you would like to see?"

The Doctor felt weary. _Preaching to the choir._ "Yes, try telling her that."

"It will only be a few minutes." Sara assured. "I just wanted…"

"Gramps, who are you talking to?" Donna emerged abruptly outside. The Doctor was silent. "What are ya all standing outside for?" Donna persisted. The former companion turned to look at each the Doctor and Sara in turn.

Internally, the Doctor could only hope he was thorough enough. The human mind was such a delicate organ that it required great precision. He had been cautious but seeing Donna again gave him doubt. _Why did I let her talk me into this?_

To his immense surprise, Donna looked at the Doctor blankly and quickly glanced away. Then she met Sara's gaze directly. "Don't I know you?"

_What?!_

**A/N: Sorry for all the revisions. **

** I wanted to thank Fan Fiction Authoress for helping Beta my revisions. Please check out her new story located in the same community.**


	7. Knowing

Donna seemed to examine Sara with enlightened curiosity. Sara felt her chest tighten and glanced at the Doctor. He appeared stunned, his hands clenched, his entire face constricted as he stared at Sara with a calculating intensity.

He hadn't anticipated this reaction as he went from analyzing Donna to carefully inspecting Sara. The girl had been present in the void, picking up other particles he couldn't account for. Was there some sort of transfer he didn't previously didn't account for? What was most suspect of the entire situation was that Sara somehow knew of the connection.

_This is all wrong. _Was this what Donna Noble needed to tell Sara? If it was, she surely didn't anticipate it. She could see the Doctor in her peripheral vision look at her suspiciously.

Donna looked flustered. "I know we've met, I've seen your face before."

Sara took a quick intake of breath. "Are you sure?"

"Well, yah. Don't know where though." She glanced at the Doctor. "Who is this, your boyfriend?"

Sara could not help but let out a snort. "Oh God, no." She rubbed her forehead and leaned against the rail of the porch.

"They work together, Donna, friends of the family," Wilfred offered. It was a decidedly safe choice.

"And you know Gramps here?"

"We go back a bit," the Doctor finally chimed in.

Donna shrugged. "Hmm, never seen you, but her... What's your name?"

"Ah, well, it's Sara," she glanced at the Doctor, "and this is John." She felt relatively secure to use his previous false identity. He, in turn, appeared startled momentarily at the introduction.

"Yes, your name rings a bell." Her eyes appeared distant, still fixed on Sara. "You were at the wedding, weren't you?"

The Doctor was now distinctly alarmed. Donna was associating Sara with the wedding when Donna first met the Doctor aboard his ship. _Definite transference. _Her memories were being triggered, but instead of being remembering the Doctor, she was remembering Sara. This needed to end now.

Sara was shaking her head mutely to Donna's inquiry as the Doctor took her arm. "We need to go, it's been a pleasure, Wilfred."

Wilfred nodded in silence, apparently stricken as to the turn of events. The Doctor was pulling Sara down the porch and to the sidewalk.

Donna attempted to follow the pair. "But you were there, I remember. You helped me, that's why you're here."

Sara froze. "How?" She turned to Donna. "Why am I here?"

"Sara," the Doctor whispered fiercely. "We need to go, _now_." Would he be forced to watch Donna die right before his eyes again, with no recourse to stop the action? Why wasn't his newest passenger picking up on the clues after his careful warning? She was being reckless, while it seemed apparent to him that the Doctor-Donna version was about to burst through the walls of her subconscious.

"No, let go of me." Sara attempted to jerk away, but his grip remained firm. "Don't you see? She obviously doesn't remember you!" He insistently was dragging her back through the yard.

"Hey, you there!" Donna called after the Doctor. "What do you think this is, the dark ages? What are you doing to her?"

"You have to let me talk to her!" Sara protested, but the Doctor wasn't listening. She gritted her teeth, having finally reached her wits end. "Donna!" She screamed. "He's-please, help me!"

"Sara-" The Doctor glanced around, neighbors were coming outside, witnessing the scuffle that was happening outside. Everything was rapidly getting out of hand, a decision had to be made soon, and fast. He moved quickly, gripping Sara by both her arms, yanking her to him.

Wilfred was with Donna, clutching onto her as she attempted to pull away, gazing at Sara with apparent concern. "What's that tosser doing to her, Gramps? You can't just let him!"

"Wait, she knows why I'm here! Get off me!" His hands clamped down on her head. "No!" He ignored her protest, the command was already given:

_Sleep._

She suddenly collapsed against him, rendered unconscious at his touch. He loathed performing the command again, but what choice had she left him? He scooped her up quickly.

"What did you do?" Donna demanded. "Gramps, stop." Wilfred was trying to pull her back. "You saw he did something to 'er, working together my arse."

"Oh, she'll be all right," the Doctor said quickly.

"And what are you, an expert?" Donna challenged.

"I'm the D-" He cut himself off as Wilfred looked at him in panic. "I'm a friend." He glanced down at Sara. "Just got of hospital, this one, low blood sugar. I need to get her home."

Donna glared at him suspiciously and looked back at Wilfred. "Gramps, you really know this guy? He's safe, you swear?"

Wilfred looked at the Doctor with a certain measure of weariness. "Yes, I know him." He nodded to the Doctor in affirmation, who returned the gesture before carrying Sara back in the direction of the Tardis.

The neighbors' curiosity was mildly satiated as they started to return to their homes. Domestic squabbles hardly struck a chord with them, since their planet had been the hunting ground of aliens. Donna Noble and the family often seemed to attract the most unusual visitors on average, this was nothing in comparison.

"You better bring her back, you here?" She said to the Doctor's retreating figure. He paused momentarily, glanced back at her with an expression of perpetual sadness. It was fleeting as he turned and continued his progression.

"I'm not mad," she attested to Wilfred. "I know that girl."

She woke back in her room or, rather, the room that had been allotted to her by the Tardis. It came back to her in one quick onslaught of memories, meeting Donna, being recognized by her, being dragged off, and then, nothingness.

This dimension was nothing, if not consistent, consistently miserable.

"I had no choice."

Sara immediately glanced up at him. "You had every choice." She shook her head. "You didn't even hear her out."

He appeared wary. "Sara, I told you, if her memories returned for an instant-"

"But they weren't, she remembered _me_."

"And why is that?" His eyes narrowed. Further scans revealed no new information. It presented a very frustrating problem, which offered only a few solutions. Risks were involved. As a time lord, he could use hypnotism to access her mind, although some humans were resistant to the use of the procedure when performed by other humans, time lords often considered their use of hypnotism primitive. The way they invoked this ability, especially on a human mind, no resistance could be offered.

If Sara was unwilling to share what she knew, he might have no other choice but to bore inside her thoughts. The risk involved the possible paradoxes she might unwittingly reveal to him in that state. There was also the possible risk of damage to the cerebrum, since he would be forcing his way in and opening the portion of her mind that contained memories. It would take consideration.

She pushed herself off the bed. "Well, gee, Doctor, you know, I could have asked and you know, followed up." Her sarcasm was evident as she circled round to the door. "But then you knocked me out."

_Donna knows something. _Maybe she could still see her, the Doctor had been rash. If she alone could go and…

"That was fifteen hours ago," he said. "We've moved."

"Fifteen hours?" She repeated incredulously. "I was asleep for…" She glanced at the delta wave augmenter as the pieces fell into place. "Why?" She demanded. "I said I didn't want it!" Her fury took hold. "You promised-" She faltered, he hadn't actually promised anything. He had simply disregarded her request, like an idiot, she assumed he would give her some level of respect.

He met her gaze stoically. "I did what was necessary." Humans, Americans in particular, seemed to thrive on sleep and food deprivation. He didn't fully understand it. He figured that was part and parcel why he chose to visit Europe more frequently. Nyssa understood the need for the device after her mental disorientation with the Urbankans, but then again, he didn't induce her collapse.

Sara remained an obstinate but wholly perplexing mystery to him. He reflected on how time travel was created on Gallifrey. There were disturbing parallels between his findings with Sara and how the star Qquaba was destroyed to produce the energy source to enable the ability to travel through time.

It was disturbing if that was indeed the case. Omega had fallen into the black hole of the collapsed star as a result where he formed an accretion disk to create matter inside. The results were his very own pocket reality, but it slowly ate away at him driving him to the brink of insanity by the time he emerged. He was a time lord, and Sara was only human. To remotely consider that she had picked up anti-matter in the void with particles of a reminiscent of a pocket universe would have dire consequences. He needed confirmation beyond mere speculation.

"What was necessary," she repeated. "Fifteen hours was necessary? I would call that excessive."

He was silent and her eyes narrowed accusingly. "What were you looking for?"

"An explanation," he said truthfully.

"Did you find one?" She asked, her tone flat.

"Not yet." He shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"So am I." Silence emanated throughout the room, and, once again, she felt betrayed. Her knowledge of the Doctor seemed to be a curse. Watching the show on TV had been simpler, uncomplicated, and, more importantly, _fiction. _That was the difference between forcing to accept him as reality as opposed to a figment of the imagination.

"Where are we?" She wanted no more surprises, predictability had its virtues.

"London, Mid-nineteenth century." He paused. "It's snowing outside and I thought.."

"You won't take me back?" She asked reflecting on Donna's words. _You helped me, that's why you're here. _Donna might know why Sara was there. There had to be a reason, and somehow Sara felt incontrovertibly linked to the woman.

"I can't," the Doctor said flatly. "I won't risk it."

Sara knew it was a pointless to argue with him. "So we're in the eighteen hundreds instead?" _Seems familiar._

"Victorian London, it's a fantastic time. It's…"

He continued to prattle, but Sara wasn't listening, striving hard to keep what little she ate within her stomach. Oh, she remembered this episode with the Cybermen attacking the downtown area. She had no desire to be taken and updated by them, which was a very real risk if she stepped outside that door. No, being imprisoned on the Tardis was preferable. After all, the Doctor managed to extinguish the threat quite successful by himself.

"I think I'm still tired," Sara tried to a give a convincing yawn. "I'll just sit this one out."

His eyes narrowed on her. "What's wrong?"

It was a loaded question. She wondered whether she shouldn't just be upfront, tell him what happened here and then he could leave well enough alone.

"I…." She paused. "I think I know what happens."

He took on a serious expression. "You think?"

"I saw it on TV."

"Sara, you can't-"

"Doctor, there are Cybermen out there. If I'm right, it's Christmas Eve and-"

"If that's true, then I need to go out there."

"Then leave me here," she pleaded. "I've seen this episode before, I'll just get in the way."

He looked at her doubtfully. Previously, she had told him that the program about him in her reality was exaggerated. As impossible as it seemed that his life could be masqueraded as a show on the telly, he accepted it on a level given the sheer number of alternate dimensions, which were in the billions. However, in terms of accuracy from what he knew of entertainment, it was given to high amounts of melodrama.

"I can't just leave you alone, onboard the Tardis. It's one of the most powerful ships in the universe, and I won't risk having you both stolen at the same time," he said flatly.

She turned away from him shuddering. He continued to persist. "Nothing will happen to you, I promise. As soon as this is over, I'll take you back."

"Is this all fun and games to you?" She asked incredulously. "People are going to die. Some already have, the children-"

"I never said death was fun. I did say you had an opportunity to matter. You can choose that right now." He raised his eyebrows. "What will it be?"

She balked at this and moreover wanted to hate him for forcing her into this predicament. That was part of her inner resentment. She couldn't find the means to hate the man responsible for destroying her life. Now he was directly challenging her to not be a coward.

Sara found herself reluctantly agreeing.

The dress was a nightmare. She gritted her teeth as she navigated lacing up a corset by herself. She managed to locate one in the wardrobe room that would tie up in front, which seemed to be a novelty, because the alternative would have been to request assistance and that would have been a profound embarrassment.

Once she did lace it so the ends closed, she could hardly take in any air. She could manage shallow breaths, but that remained the extent of what the stiff material would allow. Knowing the year of their arrival, she did pick a dress styled for eighteen fifty. Fashion in the Victorian era from she derived, since in the wardrobe room was sectioned by decade, changed fundamentally every ten years. In her opinion, the mid nineteenth century for women was the most impractical. They were still wearing hoop skirts and crinoline undergarments. She picked a dress in a burgundy shade, never caring about pastels. Technically, wearing this during the day would be a fashion faux pas. A woman was expected to wear a lighter colored day dress before changing into an evening gown, but she doubted the Doctor would be likely to return before nightfall to observe this custom.

She used a curling iron in imitation of the hairstyle of the period, however, this also proved frustrating. Her straight brown hair was often too thick to take an actual curl, and today seemed to prove no exception. Had she known specifically they were going to this time period, she might have navigated the use of rag curls. She shrugged and tossed the accessory back where she found it. Looking at herself critically in the mirror, she carefully pinned her hair in a Gibson style up do. It wasn't perfect, but it was passable, and there was only so much discomfort she could manage.

She had asked why she couldn't just go in the clothes she was wearing, since the Doctor wasn't changing his attire. He simply shook his head in refusal prompting her memory to the time when he and Rose had encountered Queen Victoria whom had banished them both by the time the story reached its conclusion. He might not stand out in the clothing he persisted to wear, but Sara definitely would.

She pinned a black shawl into place and finally emerged.

"You look-" He started to say.

"Don't." She cut him off. "You have no idea how uncomfortable this is." Truly, if men were forced to wear a corset, their perspective of suffering might be quite different. She could already feel her ribs being compressed together, the fine boning within the contraption digging into her flesh.

He grimaced. "Fair enough." There was little else he could say, given her recalcitrance. She was already terrified of leaving the Tardis, which had been unexpected but given that she mentioned cybermen, it was a considerably understandable fear. For many humans, it would be a fate worse then death.

They emerged from the TARDIS under a stone bridge, and the driving snow caused Sara to pull the shawl in more tightly around her body. Despite the chilly weather, the Doctor seemed to be in immeasurable glee as he turned around, taking in the sights with considerable excitement. She was curious as to what the novelty was, since he had visited this era far more then once.

Of course, she might have been tempted to share in his enthusiasm if she wasn't burdened with the knowledge of what was to occur. _Can't he ever have a normal Christmas?_

They were approaching an open market place that was decorated appropriately for the holidays with green garlands and red ribbons complete with carolers singing in distinct harmony in front of the stalls. She looked curiously at the stands selling various Christmas ornaments, candied apples, meat pies, and chestnuts. _Never had chestnuts before, I wonder what they taste like._

The Doctor proceeded to a boy selling newspapers, and she looked at him in bewilderment. _What is this, test?_

"You there, boy. What day is this?" He asked.

"You didn't believe me?" She muttered, nearly under her breath. He glanced at her with an expression indicating silence. She sighed, shaking her head in impatience.

"Christmas Eve, sir."

"What year?"

If only she could back away, but he still retained a grip on her elbow. The boy gave her a perplexed expression. She was sorely tempted to tell the boy she wasn't associated with the Doctor. _Yes, I could tell him he just escaped from Bedlam. _It wasn't that difficult a stretch, the Doctor was mad after all, so he would fit right in with the inmates there. She barely suppressed a giggle at her inward joke.

The boy was examining the Doctor cautiously, "Are you thick or something?"

"You have no idea," Sara muttered.

The Doctor shot her a reproving glance and returned to the boy. "Oi, just answer the question."

"Year of our Lord 1851, sir."

The Doctor nodded in confirmation and flicked his eyes to Sara. "Right, nice year, but a bit dull."

The boy cast him an expression of disdain before moving on.

"Believe me now?"

"I never said I didn't believe you before."

"You didn't have to, must be convenient that way."

She turned, attempting to listen through the crowd at the market. Where was she? Had they missed them entirely?

"What are you looking for?" The Doctor examined her curiously. The only details Sara made mention of were cybermen before they left the Tardis. Of course, revealing too many details of the future had consequences. As a time lord, he had the burden of knowledge of fixed points in times, and he never intended to travel to those periods of history. Attempting to change those could rip the very fabric of reality where, in worse case scenario, time would simply die with all points in history rippling together all at once.

He had heard cases in the academy where time lords previously attempted to meddle with fixed points, but in his experience time often reasserted what was meant to be. Humans might call it fate.

His question immediately became apparent as a woman's voice managed to project through the crowd. "Doctor!"

The Doctor was taken aback and glanced at Sara and the surrounding vicinity looking for where the call originated.

"Doctor!" The yell became more apparent. "Who, me?" He asked Sara briefly, before seizing her hand and taking off at a run.

By the time they reached the alleyway where the woman was waiting impatiently, Sara felt as though she had compressed several organs. The pain alone was disorienting and with the way the corset was designed, she couldn't catch her breath. _Why did I do this to myself? _Her abdomen and ribcage were throbbing in agony, and Sara leaned heavily against the wall and placed her hand over her abdomen. The pain eased somewhat, and she glanced at the woman who was impatiently waiting for her doctor's arrival.

"Doctor!" The woman was shouting again. The Doctor immediately grabbed her arms and attempted to move her to the side in an attempt to take control of the situation. Sara couldn't help but find the opposing woman's outfit far more practical, if not, however, less warm, dressed in a chemise, a black and beige bodice with matching skirt that contrasted the woman's dark skin appealingly. It was curious that her outfit seemed strangely out of place for the given time period, but then the woman's occupation was never clearly defined.

"Don't worry, don't worry, stand back." He gestured for them both to move further up the alley and away from the wooden doors that were bolted but seemingly straining from something throwing itself against them. "What have we got here?"

Growling started to emerge and Sara found herself stepping away. The Doctor, however, seemed intrigued by it. "Ooh." He turned to them. "Okay, I got it. Whatever's behind that door, I think you should get out of here."

_Finally, the first sensible thing he said since we got here!_

Sara raised her eyebrows, offering him a smile. "She's actually not talking to you, but sure, I'll leave. You can have this, see you back at the Tardis." She turned to head out of the alley.

The Doctor glanced hurriedly at her. "What?" _Back to the Tardis? She can't-_

The woman cried out again frantically as Sara backed away from the pair. "Doctor!"

The Doctor was utterly dumbfounded. _Has she lost her wits? _"I'm standing right here, hello."

The woman shook her head in refusal. "Don't be so stupid. Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor."

She was perplexed. "Doctor who?"

It was relatively amusing hearing it said aloud, and Sara allowed herself to chuckle as she started to head towards the marketplace. The Doctor could surely handle this debacle. She had actually never tasted roasted chestnuts before, and the street vendor appeared to be selling them. He surely wouldn't begrudge her a sample.

"Sara, stay right there." He managed to grab her arm just before she left his line of sight. _Why do they never listen? Why do they always wander off?_

"But you said I could leave." She folded her arms across her chest looking resentful.

"I was talking to her." He pointed to the woman who was eyeing them both with suspicion. "Just stay here."

"But-"

"-stay here. Do_ not_ wander off." He looked at Sara fixedly, and finally she relented, leaning against the wall.

Here turned back to the woman. "It's just the Doctor."

"Well there can't be two of you," she responded scornfully.

_Never say never._

Another figure rushed in, the woman's doctor, Sara knew. Generally a pleasant looking man dressed period specific with a red vest and beige overcoat. Remembering what had transpired for him, Sara felt overwhelmed with empathy for him.

"Don't worry, stand back. What have we got here, then?" The man exclaimed.

The Doctor was genuinely confused, "Hold on, hold on. Who are you?" He turned to face the individual.

The man was lacking in nothing if not confidence. "I'm the Doctor, simply the Doctor. The one, the only, and the best."

He turned to face the woman. "Rosita, hand me the sonic screwdriver."

_Oh right, that was her name. I knew it had something to do with Rose._

The object Rosita handed over to him was too small for Sara to get a good look at. The Doctor was apparently stunned that he had an imposter. The look on his face was comical.

"What?" He was shocked at the mere mention of his tool.

The man gestured to Rosita. "Now quickly, back to the Tardis."

"What a good idea," Sara muttered.

The Doctor was still sputtering. "Back to the what?"

The other man seemed to take full notice of them both for the first time. "Stand back, sir," he nodded to her, "miss." He attempted to push the Doctor aside to where Sara was standing. "This is a job for a Time Lord."

Sara decided it was apt time to warn the Doctor. "It's not like it seems," she tried. "It's-"

But the Doctor's attention was too diverted on the newcomer. "A _what_ lord?" _My next regeneration? Did Sara not mention this because she thought it was a paradox?_

She tried again, "Doctor, something has happened to him. He's-"

The door burst open, and Sara couldn't help but gasp. On TV, the Cybershade was a bit cheesy and appeared similar to an overgrown monkey, but in reality the metal that covered the creatures face was vastly stretched and deformed. Its eyes that rotated between shades of dark green and black glimmered beneath the interior. The body was huge and appeared to be black, but as light hit the fur, it gave an alternating tint between lavender and navy. Sara could even smell the creature as well as its saliva, and she could very well fathom what was glistening beneath that mask.

The Doctor immediately reached for his screwdriver in his pocket muttering, "Oh that's different."

The creature had already started to charge at the two men. Sara took a swift intake of air, feeling lightheaded.

The other man pointed his own metal device at the beast while commenting, "Oh, that's new."

The Doctor shoved her further back and behind the pair while keeping his eyes on the threat before him. Sara didn't say a word in protest, as she stared at the creature stricken. _Not like TV, not like TV at all._

The creature suddenly altered course and skittered up a wall, around the two men, charging straight for her. Sara was frozen, caught making direct eye contact with the beast. It was going to attack her and tear her apart. _I don't want to die like this!_ Sara closed her eyes.

**A/N: I wanted to thank Fan Fiction Authoress for helping Beta my revisions. Please check out her new story located in the same community, and thanks for your patience with my revisions. **


	8. Energy

There was no time. The creature pushed Sara down; her head jarred against the unforgiving cobblestones. Sharp pieces of pebbles stuck inside the palms of her hands as the beast had her pinned. She could smell more acute the foul encroach of its saliva beneath the mutated mask as its sharp claws began to dig into her flesh.

It drew back on its hindquarters putting one of its front claws on her neck, sniffing her from beneath the mask obscenely. Every time she attempted to move, those silver talons pressed further against her throat. Blood was starting to dribble down her neck and she couldn't breathe let alone think.. Was this how she was going to die?

The Doctor had watched in horror as the creature had altered its direction and charged directly at Sara hurling itself on top of her. He moved quickly summoning up his own physical strength matched with lightening fast reflexes known to time lords as he took hold of the Cybershade and hurled it against the alleyway wall.

It was stunned but only for a moment as it once again attempted to throw itself on top of Sara. "No!" He yelled at it as he moved in front of its path in a defensive posture. It growled ferociously at him and he turned to glance at Sara who was lying on the ground behind him. Bleeding welts covered the length of her neck and her eyes had a glazed expression as she stared at the sky. _What had he done?_

The man at his side who was strangely using his name moved to stand directly adjacent to the Doctor. "Rosita!"

"I'm ready." Rosita replied.

Mere moments later a lasso yanked the creature from its position and was being dragged away from her. Sara, finally jarred from her stupor, slowly turned over on her abdomen and labored to right herself. She was shaking too hard from the sudden assault that she found herself unable to get to her feet.

The Doctor was at her side, his hands on her elbows as he helped her to standing position and assisted her to the very entrance of the alley where she was in view of the crowds at the market place. A wooden crate offered a temporary respite as he supported her into a sitting position. "I'm sorry." He gripped her shoulders. "Just wait here, all right?"

She nodded absently looking at the bricks on the opposing wall. Carefully, she examined the cracks and defects in the structure. _So many little faults. I can see them all. _She thought idly and smiled blankly at the barrier. If she stared hard enough she could meld right into the cracks and see the molecules spinning around her. _The Doctor's right. It's so beautiful. Everything is spinning and nothing stands still. Why did I ever think it did? _

The Doctor frowned at her. _Shock and a concussion. _He decided. He would have to attend to it later. His assistance was more desperately required with that of the 'second Doctor'. It seemed an apt nickname until he could verify his own suspicions. With that, he rushed in his direction to assist in their capture of the Cybershade. _Why did it attack Sara?_

She watched as he ran down into the alley to assist the other second Doctor who was boldly struggling with the creature. She hadn't the time to convey to the Doctor his true identity but her fear regarding encountering Cybermen had disoriented her and now she could hardly think straight. _His name. What's his name? _Her thoughts were erratic coming in subtle bursts but then became too slippery to catch. She looked at her hands, which were mottled with deep cuts still bleeding, deep ruby droplets that trailed down her arms. For a reason unbeknownst to her, she instinctively licked the blood that was pooling in her palm. _O positive. I'm O positive. _She frowned and briefly shook herself. The taste of copper mixed with various dirt particles filled her mouth. _That's disgusting. Why did I do that?_

Swallowing hard to keep the bile that was creeping up her throat, she glanced at the two Doctors. They were trying to chase the shade that dashed up another building however the creature was still looking at her with disturbing intensity. It was attempting to attack her again but the rope was yanking it back and away from her. She felt unmistakable dread considering the fact that just her presence was already altering the events. _I'm all wrong and that thing knows it._

Their struggle with the creature seemed to have results as the cybershade appeared to give up its quarry. It now seemed to flee although the second Doctor still had his lasso firmly engaged on the beast, however the shade seemed able to summon incredible strength. It was pulling him up, directly off the ground and he was flailing unable to match the force the creature could assert. The Doctor at once attempted to assist by grabbing hold of the rope only to be pulled up as well.

Rosita threw up her hands in fury. "You idiots!"

Sara could only watch as they were both pulled into a broken window with Rosita in hot pursuit.

She heard a scuffle and a crash. Moments later, the three emerged from the downstairs warehouse.

The Doctors were apparently tremendously amused with themselves as they chuckled making their way back into the alley. Rosita hardly seemed to share their enjoyment.

"Well, I'm so glad you both think this was funny." She exclaimed. "You are both absolutely mad. " Pointing to Sara, "She could've gotten killed." She spat. "And you too!"

Rosita looked at Sara with apparent concern. "It really got its hooks into 'er."

The Doctor snapped back to reality and knelt down in front of Sara, removing his sonic screwdriver, swiftly conducting a scan. "Ok, it's fine. Just a minute."

The other Doctor attempted to placate Rosita. "But evidently we did not. She's a little worse for wear."

Sara was muttering to herself. "I'm all wrong inside. Damaged everywhere and I can taste it." She found herself digging her nails into the wounds on her palms to keep her hands from trembling. The pain she felt in reaction was somewhat reassuring.

She jerked back in panic as the Doctor suddenly reached for her head. "What are you doing?"

Gripping her arms, he fixed his eyes on her. _Will I regret this? _His reluctance would have to wait as he stared directly into her eyes accessing only the outer layer of his psychic telepathy field. It wasn't since Harriet Jones had he used the power of his words to place a deep seated suggestion but for this brief moment, he required her trust.

"Sara, only four words."

He had carefully managed to break through her mental barrier and she was starring at him transfixed.

"Trust me right now." He whispered. Gripping both of her hands, he reached for her head. This time she didn't move but her gaze remained focused on him, her eyes placid. Distantly, she felt his hands on her ears and a sudden movement relinquished the pressure that was building up inside her head. The blurriness dissipated as her world came back into focus and she struggled to take a deep breath.

The corset was still constricting her lungs but the outer dress had nearly been torn to shreds along with the gouges in her flesh.

The Doctor was examining her arms as Sara gazed at him in bewilderment. "My head, the noise is gone." She glanced down watching him examine his screwdriver as the color was flickering on the other end.

"What's that-"

"Just recalibrating. Now this might hurt a bit."

Sara yelped in pain as the instrument in its capacity burned into her flesh but mended the wound right in front of her eyes.

"A few more to go." The Doctor assured.

"But-"

In a low murmur, he told her. "We can't return to the Tardis right now." Sara bit her lip as he took to healing another welt. "We're almost done."

The second Doctor approached them. "Forgive me, I've been remiss. I should introduce Rosita, my faithful companion, who apparently always tells me off."

Rosita gave a swift nod in approval. "And rightly so."

The Doctor glanced back at them in amusement, "Well they do, don't they?" He nearly looked forlorn at the mention of the companion's name. "Rosita? Good name." He glanced up at her. "Hello Rosita."

Rosita eyed Sara. "Is she all right?"

The Doctor's painstaking efforts at healing her welts brought sharp tears to Sara's eyes. "Still with me, Sara?"

"I-" She paused, looking down. The injuries were gone, leaving nothing but the residual blood in their midst. "Yes, I thought it was-" She pushed herself back up to standing finding herself unable to finish. Distractedly she looked at her gown. "My dress." She picked at the torn pieces of fabric. "It's completely ruined. I never knew how to sew."

Still in shock. Entering her mind even at a superficial level was a risk and she was left in a state of disorientation after he had cured her concussion. He had applied field remedies and though his sonic screwdriver was capable of healing those small wounds, it was considerably more painful to humans then options he was privy to in his sickbay. With Cybermen in the vicinity and his next regeneration apparently here, he had no time to retreat to his Tardis.

Rosita was examining the vicinity. "I'll have to go and dismantle all those traps. All that work for nothing." She glanced at Sara. "But your friend some cleaning up, I daresay. I'll take her back to the Tardis. Meet you there after the funeral right?"

"Funeral?" The Doctor asked perplexed.

"Oh long story" The second Doctor explained. "Not my own, at least not yet." He bent over and groaned. "I'm not as young as I once was."

"Well not as young as you were when you were me." The Doctor replied in fascination.

Sara let out a groan considering the circumstance. A man in a fugue state with memories imprinted on him which were easier to accept then his current predicament. She pondered for a moment why she hadn't succumbed to one upon entering this reality. Surely it would have been easier to let her memories dissipate into a smoky haze of denial thus forgetting her universe altogether.

But she had always considered herself uncluttered and too rational a person to be given to such meanderings. Her desperate need for control would not allow her to slip into the realm of insanity

Rosita approached her, shaking her head. "Shame about your dress. Madmen we travel with. Let's get you taken care of."

Sara already felt a strange affinity towards this person offering Rosita a smile in return.

"Wait," The Doctor immediately interrupted them. "I can't have her wandering about and leaving our sight." If this Doctor was his future incarnation, surely he would know of Sara's importance but there was something not quite right about him. It deemed further investigation. If his companion intended to stay with Sara at their Tardis, her safety would be reasonably assured. Unless she used the opportunity to run again for which he did not relish hunting her down in Victorian London. It was unlikely given her fear of leaving the Tardis previously but he wavered on making this decision.

"Not to worry. Rosita has nursed me through many an injury. You can trust her. She'll bring your fiancé back in one piece."

"He's not my fiancé" Sara was indignant.

"Right. Married already. She'll bring your wife back in one piece."

Sara protested, "No he's my-"

The Doctor interrupted smoothly. "Sara is my ward."

"Of course. I doubted no impropriety although a young lady of her reputation should be kept out of harm's way."

The Doctor sighed coming to a decision, turning to Sara. "Remember what I told you before." Taking her shoulders, he lowered his voice. "No second chances."

Sara felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. She remembered the conversation all too well.

Rosita attempted to intercede. "Nothing will happen to her."

He glanced at Rosita and shook his head. "Never say nothing. Don't let her wander off."

He released her, allowing Rosita to guide Sara away. _I hope this wasn't a mistake. _Turning to the second Doctor, he inquired, "Do you remember being me?"

The Second Doctor seemed perplexed. "Do I remember being who?"

"Don't you recognize me?"

"Not at all."

"But you're the next Doctor."

The conversation was starting to trickle out as Sara followed Rosita a further distance away.

"How'd you get stuck with the likes of him?" Rosita asked.

Sara could only respond dryly. "Believe me. I keep asking that myself."

She was led into a series of stables and although Sara knew what they called the Tardis was a hot air balloon; she still thought it was a lovely creation to behold. She judiciously made no comment on it, and only when prompted, she answered Rosita promptly that it was beautiful to which Rosita seemed pleased.

The coarse chemise and skirt that Rosita offered was a blessed relief in contrast to the nightmare of the confines of the corset and crinoline undergarments which had caused her skin to itch terribly from the irritation. Her lungs greedily drank in oxygen as she yanked the corset free, pulling the hook and eyes apart from the back and tossing the contraption into a corner.

"If I never see that thing again, it will be too soon." Sara muttered.

"I would tend to agree with ya." Rosita said, picking up one of the shattered garments. "Such a waste though. Satin isn't it?"

"You know, I have no idea." Sara shrugged. "Doesn't matter now. Wasn't mine anyway."

"Do you hate 'em?"

"Your guardian. The Doctor. Not that I can rightly blame you." Rosita shook her head. "They are both down right barking mad but he pulled that thing right off ya. Saved your life. Maybe something has gone round the bend for you before but that's no mistake what I saw-"

"I-" Sara paused remembering briefly the frenetic look in the Doctor's eyes as he yanked the creature off of her. She had seen him express true panic, which to her was a fairly illuminating experience but then this was the Doctor who regarded her as some unique scientific curiosity. "It's complicated."

"Always is with men." Rosita replied. "My Doctor's brilliant but a loon. Always must be in charge, that one. I'm always cleaning up, doing whatever he says."

"Sounds familiar."

"Nah" Rosita denied. "Ya don't seem like the person to take orders. Neither does that one. If I were you, I'd watch your step."

"Why do you stay with him?" Sara asked out of curiosity.

"Needs my help, didn't he? Besides, he did save me life." She poured a small glass of a slightly pink concoction. "I'm a bit mad myself. Have to be to be with him."

Sara laughed and Rosita joined in before offering her the liquid.

"Here, might help a little. Eases the nerves."

"What is it?" Sara asked.

"Just some herbs mixed with willow bark. Have it every night myself."

_Oh right. Aspirin derivative. _"Thank you." She smiled at her and accepted the glass. "That's pretty clever."

"These days I couldn't get on without it, not with what I've seen."

Sara gulped down the bitter liquid in one swallow nearly gagging at the taste. Rosita offered her a cup of water, which she found brackish but managed to eliminate the flavor that had lingered.

"Preaching to the choir." Sara agreed.

"You're American aren't ya? But you have no family over there?"

Sara winced. "My family, they, well-" she choked briefly on a sob that arose in her throat. "They all vanished all of a sudden." She thought of her mother and how proud she had been at her college graduation, which earned her the trip to London. Her mother and Sara had been quite contentious with each other throughout most her life with her father forced to play peacemaker.

'_You two are too much the same people. If I wasn't here, you'd both burn the house down.' _He had said in exasperation.

_What wouldn't I give for just one more day. _Sara thoughts seemed to be becoming languid. The distinct misery she had felt was slowly slipping away.

Rosita glanced down. "Sorry to hear. My family has been called home too."

Sara felt a wave of drowsiness, which rather then provoking fear, made her feel quite pleasant. "You think my family is there too? You know, home? Can't just be gone." She looked at Rosita in a daze. "Could they really be there?"

Rosita smiled. "Of course. I tell ya what. They are probably all there, eating chops, glancing down at us every now and again. Sending down good thoughts cause ya know, that's what keeps the metal men at bay."

Sara was feeling like her eyelids were at half mast and it was a herculean task to keep them open. "Cybermen." She repeated. "Yes, Cybermen. They delete, upgrade and then delete, upgrade."

She felt Rosita take her arm leading her across the stables. "There's a funeral for Reverend Fairchild and I need to check in with the Doctor. Ya think you'll be ok resting here?"

"Reverend. So sad. Did he need to die?" Sara asked, her tongue felt thick.

She found herself being pushed down on a mattress. "I will tell him you're here. Your Doctor."

"He stole me you know." Sara confided and giggled despite herself.

"Stole you?"

"Yes, I ran and ran and ran. There was a bridge. I had to get back you see and he took me."

"Took you?"

"I've seen it all. Like in movies." Rosita looked confused. "No, not movies. Like in plays but that is his life all acted out ahead of time. His life in motion and I know his part. I knew. The dog shouldn't of attacked me. That was wrong. Now I'm part of the play. I don't know my lines."

Rosita found herself perplexed at the girl's mutterings. "The laudanum." She said, pushing her down on the pillow. "You can just sleep it off. I'll be back in two shakes, all right?"

She had already drifted away and Rosita quickly covered her with a blanket, heading off to meet the Doctor. The other man had been quite severe about not leaving her side but what trouble could this sleeping girl cause in her state. Rosita shrugged. None at all.

Night was already starting to fall as Rosita made her way back to the alley where she had last seen the Doctor. She was in a state of considerable panic having not been able to locate either him or the girl's Doctor at the funeral and started to pace. _Did the metal men-the Cybermen kill them both? Mad men, the two of them. Both dead now. I should of stayed-_

Her relief was unimaginable when she saw the two of them making their way into the alley. "Doctor!" Without thinking, she embraced him muttering prayers of gratitude inwardly that he was still alive.

He seemed embarrassed as he detached himself from her but smiled nonetheless. "Now then, Rosita. A little decorum."

The other man was examining her intensely, seemingly puzzled at her presence. _The girl's Doctor isn't he? Wonder if he did steal her. _He seemed nearly heroic at the time yanking the creature off of her but somehow he also radiated a danger. Still, this stranger might have been sent by fate to help her Doctor. The terrible nightmares and ravings he had at night were more then she could manage but nevertheless, she had sworn to stay by his side.

"Where is Sara?" the man asked sharply and Rosita was slightly taken aback.

"Ah Rosita, forgive him." Her Doctor interceded. "This is John Smith and we were just ambushed by Cybermen. A bit rattled is all and he is helping me to-"

She turned on him in frustration, remembering her dread upon considering his demise. "You've been gone for so long." Glancing at John Smith who appeared to be in a state of anxiety. "He's always doing this, leaving me behind. Going frantic."

"What about the Tardis?" Her Doctor asked.

"Don't tell me she ran off again." The man reached into his jacket to remove a tool and Rosita could distinctly hear a high-pitched noise. "Once chance, I did tell her that."

"Do you always whistle when you're nervous, sir?" Her Doctor inquired.

_Whistle?_

"Now hold on. Your friend didn't run off. She's just asleep. Had a right shock she did." Rosita explained. "I gave her something for the nerves and it sent her right off."

"Something for the nerves?"

"Neither of you use laudanum?" She shook her head. "Asleep within minutes going on about how you stole her and her family vanished. Her head must've gone wrong."

"What about the Tardis?" Her Doctor asked.

Rosita nodded. "Oh, she's ready. Come on." She clutched her Doctor's arm. Glancing over at the other man. "The girl's right in there. Could be still a bit knackered but she had a good fright."

The Doctor silently put his screwdriver away and followed the pair pondering whether he had made the right decision to leave Sara with this woman. He already had a theory of who the other Doctor was but it was still a fascinating experience and not one he had seen. _Infostamps. Quite clever if you think about it._

Still if Sara was safely stowed away inside and asleep somewhere, he would have had less to worry about had she been in the house being pursued by Cybermen.

"I'm looking forward to this." He said finally as they left the alley.

"_Jess, where are you going?" Sara was trying to catch up. They were supposed to have tea at the Orangerie but Jessica was running too fast. Sara felt like her legs were made out of water. "Slow down a sec. Just hold on!"_

"_But you're late!" Jessica pronounced to her. "Far to late, you see?" Jessica pointed to something just ahead of her. Then Sara saw it. Bright bits of light. Rips of it descending from the sky straight towards her. _

"_Jessica!" Sara yelled out to warn. It was too late. The light ate right through her, flesh and bone. She watched in horror as Jessica's skin dissolved in front of her eyes as_

_everything else was being consumed in its path. "Stop!" Sara tried to cry out but Jessica was right as everything was being eaten out of existence._

_There was a hand on her shoulder and startled, Sara turned. "Donna?" She asked._

"_I know you, don't I?" Donna asked._

_The light engulfed them, melding them together and Sara could feel the burning sensation ravaging inside her body. The pain was agonizing. She screamed._

Sara bolted up from the mattress choking on the scream that was in her throat. A homespun quilt fell from her shoulders and she concluded that Rosita must have covered her with it when she had fallen asleep.

Then she remembered Rosita saying something about laudanum and Sara felt undeniably foolish. Essentially she drank liquid morphine allowing herself to think it was nothing stronger then aspirin. Rosita had been so disarming in her nature that Sara couldn't help but let her guard down.

The woman appeared to have vanished and Sara was momentarily alone in the stables although she knew the Doctor was sure to return lured by the possibility of seeing this Doctor's Tardis. But then considering the behavior of that strange Cybershade, the course of events had seemed to be altered and Sara didn't know to what degree.

It was possibly very late afternoon to nearly early evening by the way light was shifting into the stables and she forced herself into sitting position and stretched.

Whatever Rosita and the Doctor had ventured, Sara desperately longed for fresh air. The smells emitted by the hot air balloon as well as the current tenants in the stables were not mixing well with the aftermath of the morphine induced slumber. She pushed herself up on her feet and shoved open the door.

She felt as if her heart nearly stopped and her panic had left her frozen in place. A woman in crimson red gown and dark hair fixed her with a gaze that seemed to be born out of utter cruelty. At her side were Cybermen, their armor gleaming in the snow. Sara could clearly see the human brains that were woven in the circuitry within their skull and there she could hardly fathom a more repellant sight.

"Has no one told you that it's impolite to stare?" The woman asked.

Sara swallowed down the bile in her throat. She remembered her. Miss Harrigan or Miss Harnigan. Wait. That's it. Miss Haritgan. She thought she could work with the Cybermen to fulfill her own plans. Delusional.

She managed to find her voice, attempting to summon a trace of confidence. She was in control, she just had to be and she utterly refused to let these things take that away from her. "Miss Hartigan, what are you doing here?"

The woman seemed surprised at Sara's knowledge of her name but covered her astonishment quickly.

"Why, looking for you, my dear." She took a step closer. "I hear you're considerably unique and indeed, you are a worthy find."

Sara shook her head. "You're supposed to be at the graveyard."

The woman's smile broadened. It was venomous. "Indeed I was going to pay a visit but I left them in very capable hands. I felt that you needed my personal touch. Aren't you flattered?"

Sara took a measured step back. "I have nothing here for you. Why don't you just run along?"

"I wouldn't say that. You're here. You met my little pet earlier didn't you, my dear?"

"Your pet?" Sara muttered. "The Cybershade."

"You have your own little treasure inside you and that is considerably useful at least to them you see." She gave a cold laugh. "Once they study and upgrade you, imagine all that we'll accomplish together."

Sara shook her head adamantly refusing to let that happen. "Like hell."

"How very lacking in decorum you are."

"You want to talk to me about decorum?" Sara clenched her teeth. "The Cybermen are just using you and soon enough they'll convert you. You can stop this right now."

"You're a liar."

"I'm lying? They have designated this whole time as a lie. Who do you think they will have ascend tonight as the Cyber King?"

Miss Hartigan seemed in part perturbed. She glanced at one of the Cybermen at her side. Then she looked at Sara and shook her head in adamant refusal. "Nicely played, my dear. I can see the value you have to them and soon, the two of us will bring about a revolution." She nodded to her companions. "Go on. Take her back to the work-"

In fury, Sara let fell a punch straight across her jaw. The other woman was stunned as trickles of blood dribbled down her mouth and onto her neck. She glared at Sara with malevolence.

Without hesitating, Sara turned and started to run. _Everything is out of order. What has gone so wrong._

**A/N: I have finally finished all my revisions on all my previous chapters so I can actually start writing my new content. I want to thank Fan Fanfiction Authoress for helping to beta my writing and being patient through my revisions as well as LovelyAmberLight for her insights in my story structure. **

**There were some major revisions if any of you care to go through prior chapters. At any rate, now I can start working on new content. I'm sorry this has taken a considerable while. If any of you read the changes, I would be interested to know what you think.**


	9. Unforeseen

The boots Sara was wearing cut directly into her toes as she dashed to the rear of the stables, praying that she would find a back door. Somehow, everything had gone miserably wrong when she had first stepped foot off the Tardis, and now she had altered the course of events so they were hunting her directly. She nearly tripped over a set of luggage strewn near the middle of her path, but managed to keep upright. If she faltered now, she would have virtually no chance of escape, and she didn't like her odds that the Doctor would find her in time.

There was, indeed, another exit towards the back, and as she veered in that direction, she heard the sound of clanging metal behind her crashing directly through the baggage obstacle that lay in its path. She glanced behind her quickly as she reached the door, while cursing herself for wasting those few precious seconds, seeing the Cybermen close the distance towards her.

While, turning, she frantically yanked the exit way open, it was only to find herself crashing into an unforgiving metal body. "You will be upgraded." She screamed, trying to rear back, only to feel the Cybermen's hands grip her arms, dragging her towards Miss Hartigan, who appeared extremely self-satisfied.

"They'll turn on you," Sara spat. "Don't believe me now, but they are lying to you."

"Quite a little spitfire you are," Miss Hartigan sneered back. "In another life, we might have been friends, but now you see, I have my knights right here." She removed a handkerchief to wipe the blood off her mouth and turned to the Cybermen. "Take her to the workhouse with the rest of the children to prepare for the Ascension."

"Understood. The CyberKing will rise."

"And who do you think that will be?" Sara was being dragged backwards over the cobblestones as she glared at Miss Hartigan venomously. "Think they won't upgrade trash like you? Because, I'll tell you what, _Mercy_," Sara gleaned some small satisfaction at seeing the woman's eyes widen at the use of her first name. "I'll see you in Hell."

Night had fallen, and the only light was cast from the burning embers of streetlights that caused flickering shadows to move ominously upon the bricked enclosures. She could hear the children as they started to scream, feeling her gut churn in dread. Tonight, Hell had certainly paid her a visit.

The Doctor rushed into the stables behind the Second Doctor and Rosita, feeling a surge of panic when he took in the surroundings. Various pieces of furniture were knocked over, and he glanced over to see luggage strewn about haphazardly with their contents ripped and tangled all over the floor. Bending down, he retrieved a torn vest that and an infostamp that had been tossed aside in an apparent struggle. _They must've taken her, should have seen it coming when the Shade pounced on her._

"That's another man's property!" Rosita exclaimed, indignant. "What would do this?" She circled the stables perimeter. "The girl's not here anywhere."

_There's just no time for this. _He turned to the second Doctor abruptly. "Doctor, your Tardis, may I see it?"

The man appeared disconcerted as he surveyed the damage to his home and distractedly begun to right the chairs that were knocked over. The Doctor placed a hand on his arm garnering his attention. "Your Tardis, I need to see it."

The Second Doctor finally nodded. "Of course, Mr. Smith, it will be my honor."

When the Doctor observed the other Tardis, it confirmed his theory of the man's identity. An accidental backfire of the Cybermen's infostamp combined with a fugue state, left him a target until he and Sara came along. He thought over time, he had grown accustomed to being the bearer of bad news, but upon having gained his reluctant companion in the most tragic of circumstances, he found himself detesting readily what he had to do. _I do what is necessary, as I always have done._

"Sorry, really, I am so sorry," he said as he explained to the man that he was indeed the owner of the 'dead man's' luggage and not the Doctor at all, but a visiting mathematician professor named Jackson Lake, who had been a victim of a Cybermen attack that killed his wife and nearly cost him his sanity.

"You wanted to become someone else, because Jackson Lake lost so much," he Doctor said, hoping that Jackson wouldn't retreat into catatonia when Sara and the whole of London was potentially at risk. Faced with the bitter reality of the circumstances, humans were known to be tremendously unpredictable.

"I remember…Oh my God…Caroline, they killed my wife." Jackson broke down and wept, and Rosita immediately went to his side to comfort him. "They killed her."

The Doctor gazed awkwardly at the pair and then glanced at the infostamp in his hand. A loud beeping resounded through the stables. He quickly ascertained its source in a large trunk and pulled open the lid.

"Oh…" He removed a full belt of them and quickly stored the infostamps under his coat. _I can use them to better triangulate their position. _Locating Sara, given the massive distortion readings and energy patterns that the Cybermen themselves were covered in void matter particles, was making it demanding for his sonic screwdriver to differentiate. _The Cybermen came back from the void, but how? Not the same way Sara entered, because that crack was sealed. _"You found a whole cache of infostamps," he said greedily, as they continued to pulse beneath his fingers.

"But what is that? What's that noise?" Rosita demanded as both she and Jackson were alarmed at the shrill vibration the objects were making.

"Activation," the Doctor explained as he scanned them. "A call to arms." _I think I know where they're going. _"The Cybermen are moving!" He exclaimed before running outside.

"Rosita," Jackson turned towards the woman he had fondly considered his companion. "The Doctor still needs help finding her, finding _them_. I can't right now, but I've learnt that much about him. There should be someone at his side." He muttered as she looked at him uncertainly. "Go to him, now."

She nodded in ascent, giving his shoulder a light squeeze before heading off after the Doctor in an even sprint.

_Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee, all through the night._

Sara's mother had sung that to her when she was a child during her first lightning storm, when her family had just moved to Washington State from Southern California. At just the age of six, the weather had terrified her with its pulsating echoes echoes that rented the sky and piercing light that illuminated the heavens. She thought it was surely the end of the world, but her mother forced her to come outside underneath the sky, telling her there was beauty in such a harrowing event.

"This is God's way of saying hello," her mother had explained. "You see how He lights up the world? It's so that we all pay attention."

"What if we don't believe in God?" Sara had asked. "Cynthia said there was no such thing, made up, like Santa Claus, says we can't see Him so obviously He's not there."

"Tell you what," her mother said. "Do you believe in oxygen, the air we breathe?"

"Yes, 'cause we are breathing it."

"How do you know, since you can't see it?"

_Guardian angels, God will send thee, all through the night._

Sara had been imprisoned inside a workhouse within the main power room, watching as Cybermen guarding the perimeter. The children that were forced into the enclosure with her were were whimpering in fright, while some took to huddling against the wall, rocking back and forth in shock. If she could find a way out, she might stand a chance and from what she had seen the Cybermen were intent on making preparations for the Ascension rather then attempting to convert her.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, for every exit appeared firmly guarded. The familiar noise of metal clanging against the wooden floor echoed throughout the workhouse and all the children stiffened. Sara turned and was revolted at the sight. Miss Hartigan appeared even more confident in the position of power she had usurped, and in that moment, Sara only hope she lived long enough to see her face as the lies of the Cybermen became exposed.

"Speak of the devil," she muttered to herself.

"Children," Miss Hartigan announced coldly. "Pay attention, now let the work of the Industrial Revolution begin." She yanked a child pitilessly off the floor that had curled up in fear. "I want to see you work."

"And you," the woman turned to Sara as Cybermen approached. "I always say the mind is a terrible thing to waste."

Sara screamed again as she was yanked towards a chair and forced into sitting position, as they started playing metal electrodes directly onto her scalp. The burst of the electric current was searing as they activated a switch nearest to the wall. Her mind and body felt as if they were set on fire, and Sara closed her eyes. _This is it, God, please let it be fast. _

Something unexpected happened as the three Cybermen conducting the discharge into her brain, promptly froze and fell to the ground. Sara looked down at herself, and she saw her body radiating of pure white particles that had caused her skin to illuminate. Peering at the Cybermen, she saw that they were engulfed with the same dispersal of radiation. _It killed them somehow, and I-what am I? _The color of her skin was starting to return to normal as she stood up, her legs shaking beneath her. _Am I really just a weapon?_

Miss Hartigan was sneering at her. "Damaged cores in those units, but everything will soon be set to right. The CyberKing will ascend, and I will be on his right hand to rise with him."

"It's safe to say you will be every part of him," Sarah retorted. "Or are you still grasping to the delusion that they'll just leave you alone?"

Other Cybermen flooded around Miss Hartigan and Sara glanced back at the children who shoveling coal and turning various gears, which she knew was to power the dreadnought ship. It seemed her presence here continued to meddle with the outcome, but in a brief flash of insight, she asked herself whether it was necessarily negative.

"You will join us, my dear, seeing that it's only a matter of time. The rest of the corruption is being purged, as your Doctor so kindly made us aware."

She knew the Doctor would attempt to reclaim her once he found that she had disappeared, but she couldn't count on his arrival in time. _After all, knowing him, he might just think I ran off again. _She thought wearily. It was ridiculous, she knew that he would contrive such a notion, since she was so vehement about not leaving the Tardis in the first place, but still, the doubt lingered in her mind.

"Soon, the CyberKing will awake," one of the machines voiced.

"Well then," Miss Hartigan wrapped her arm through that of the Cybermen as if he were an esteemed escort. "By all means, show me." They proceeded to retreat out of the engine room, leaving three to guard her and all the children. _But Miss Hartigan is back so the gate is free, three of them can't stop all of us._

They were guiding her further back to the workhouse, and she turned to the children who were continuing to toil away at the machines. Quickly coming to a decision, she ran to them, and they all paused their work momentarily to stare at her. "Listen, you have got to get out of here. This whole place is going to come down." They continued to gaze at her, frozen. "Out the back door, through the sluice gate, I know it's not guarded because-" She shook her head, deciding that the Cybermen had been dismantled there was not relevant at this point. "Now it's open. You have to go, now!" She gripped two of the children's' arms, propelling them to the back door.

"Stop." The Cybermen immediately moved towards them. "Delete."

In that instant, their fleeting trance was broken, and they fled out the backdoor of the workhouse leaving the engine room nearly deserted, except she could hear the distinct whimpering of a boy that appeared to be coming from upstairs. _His son. _Sara thought in horror. _I can't leave his son behind, he would have no one. He would be just like me._

The rancid smells of the fuel room were making her dizzy, as she skirted out of the way of the guards, hearing the screech of metal towards her as she tried to make her way towards the stairs.

Cybermen, accompanied by Miss Hartigan burst through the door next to the stairs, and Sara froze.

"Power levels at sixty percent and dropping," one said in monotone as Miss Hartigan examined the empty workhouse in shock before turning on Sara. "What did you do?"

"Stopped you from committing mass murder." Sara glanced upwards seeing the child clearly now. _Why is he just standing there?_ "You won't have enough power to fuel your ship, and the Doctor knows your plan. I'd consider alternatives."

"Correct," the Cybermen replied, and Sara glanced at them startled.

"What-? You agree with me?"

"You have power. If the Doctor is planning to intervene, then the Ascension will begin immediately."

Suddenly, her arms were seized, and she was being dragged out of the engine room into another room with a darkened interior, which contained a throne completely composed out of metal.

"No," Sara cried out in protest. "You can't upgrade me, remember? You're all corrupted and-"

"The cores have been repaired. You have been designated."

Time was being rewritten, and Sara found herself praying for the unlikeliest of miracles. _Doctor…_

Jackson Lake had regained his senses and just in time, for he had managed to save their lives using a cache of infostamps. There was something to be said for a man who found courage in time of tragedy, where a backfired memory recorder gave him instinct to fight off an enemy beyond his realm of expertise.

The Doctor had found the Cybermen's means of transportation by way of a stolen Dalek Dimension Vault, which had very little energy left residing in its core. _That's why only a small number could come through. _

After their confrontation with Miss Hartigan at the sluice gate, to the workhouse, they ended up in Jackson's cellar, which provided access by means of underground tunnels to the Cybermen's base in the workhouse. However, they arrived at their destination only to find the massive workroom deserted. _Where are all the children? _He pondered. The Doctor rushed in with Jackson and Rosita in hot pursuit as he carefully examined the temperature gauges.

"Upon my soul," Jackson murmured.

"What is it?" Rosita asked, glancing around her.

The Doctor removed his glasses from his coat, putting them on and narrowed his eyes at the meter. "It's an engine. They were generating electricity." He shook his head, tapping the read out. "Their workforce is gone, and the power is dying down. That's not meant to happen." He started to do some swift calculations in his mind and then glanced around the room. "They wouldn't dispose of the children, until they were at a hundred percent and this software, it's…" He paused.

"It's gone wrong?" Jackson asked.

Then it clicked in the Doctor's mind, Sara had known the outcome of the children and likely wouldn't stand idly by, if they hadn't integrated her into the Cybermen system. _Hadn't updated her or couldn't. _There were odd synaptic potentials in her pineal gland, which could interfere with cybernetic circuitry, and as he examined the smoking remains of the Cybernetic units that were on the floor, it seemed his hypothesis held weight.

But the Cybermen were corrupted before from lingering in the void. The Doctor found that he was cursing himself, because he was the one that held out a corrected infostamp, begging them to plug it in and fix the damage to their machinery, just so he would be recognized by them.

He frantically looked around, spotting another door that led further into the interior.

"Yes, something is very wrong," the Doctor said as he raced towards the door.

Sara was forced into chair, her hands and feet strapped viciously into position as she struggled fiercely against her bindings. "All hail the CyberKing." They made a salute towards her, and she shook her head fiercely.

"No way in hell will I ever serve you," Sara snapped. "Why don't you just go ahead and kill me?"

"Well, that's been said before." The door had swung open behind the Cybermen, and the Doctor strode in with Rosita and Jackson behind him. "All the same, I rather you wouldn't."

"It's the Doctor," Miss Hartigan exclaimed. "Delete him, delete them all!"

Two of the Cybermen headed in their direction, when two bursts of light from the infostamps immediately dismantled them. More of them started to merge in on the trio.

"Now just wait one moment, I've come to offer you a chance."

"Explain," the Cybermen stated.

"You came into this world using a Dimension Vault. I can use that device to find you a home, with no people to convert. A new world where you can live out your mechanical lives in peace." The Doctor moved forward purposefully. "Just let her go, and I'll do just that."

"Negative." A unit pulled a lever down on the wall, and Sara watched in horror as the helmet descended. "The CyberKing will rise."

"I warned you," the Doctor said, aiming his sonic screwdriver at the power source. _Setting…what setting was it? 34-C, no, it's 37-H. _"Now, I'll have to stop you." He pressed the button, just as the headpiece clamped on Sara's head and electricity started to charge through her body. She was screaming in agonized pain, while at the same time, her body became infused with a glow and beams of energy shot out in a feedback loop dismantling all the Cybermen connected just as the Doctor predicted. Sara couldn't be updated, but by him reversing the polarity of the sync, she was able to effectively, with an energy discharge, short circuit all of the units connected to this Cyber Web mainframe, neutralizing the threat.

"What did-" Miss Hartigan was stuttering. "What did you just do? My knights, my brave, metal knights, this can't be!" The woman glared at them before running out the door, likely in search of possible survivors. _She won't find any._

The power source had caught on fire, and Sara was immovable in the chair, her eyes fluttered, as she was tried to hazily determine the events that had transpired. _Room's on fire. _She thought. _Did I do that? _

The Doctor rushed over to her, disengaging the straps with a swift use of his screwdriver.

"My insides were burning," she muttered. "I tried…" She couldn't remember what she tried to do. There was something important in the other room, and the Doctor needed to find-

"It's all right, up we go," he said, lifting her out of the chair, taking care not to wince at the smell of burnt flesh. "Just hold tight."

They made their way back into the engine room for which Sara attempted to struggle weakly in the Doctor's grasp. "I remember his son is here. They took his son. You have to find him."

"Whose son?" Jackson asked, standing beside the Doctor, apparently confused.

"Yours!" Sara exclaimed. They were continuing to head to the exit, and her protests seemed to going unheeded, while the Doctor merely frowned at her, his grip seemed like iron on her arms and legs. "The Cybermen took him when they killed your wife, and-"

"What did you do to her?" Rosita asked the Doctor accusingly, who seemed baffled at the reaction.

The Doctor shook his head. "It's temporary, just some disorientation with Peripheral Neuropathy with mononeuritis multiplex from when I depolarized the Cyberweb mainframe to reroute-" He glanced over at Rosita. "Never mind, I'll have her fixed up in no time. Quite brilliant actually, and-"

"Stop, put me down." Sara could feel the distinct pain of muscle cramps racking her body as she shoved herself backwards, hoping to regain her footing. All she earned from her efforts was the sensation of brutal pinpricks occurring right underneath her skin. "His son is up there on the very top, don't you see? You can't leave him to die."

The Doctor glanced up and around the vicinity of the room and shook his head. "No one there," he said before moving forward.

"No, that's not right!" She managed to grip one of the wooden beams causing the Doctor to stumble and fall partially on top of her. He had buffered some of her impact but the pain of her burned flesh meeting wood still proved an excruciating experience. She attempted to regain her footing to approach the staircase herself, but found her legs and arms utterly useless still racked by the spasms caused by the machine.

Hands wrapped around her midsection, pulling her upwards as she tried to locate the boy at his previous position, high in the loft only to find nothing there. _Impossible..._

She glanced at Jackson pleadingly, "You have to go up there and find him. He's just scared, but he's there, I swear he's there. He's-"

"Miss, I can attest to the fact that I don't have a son. Caroline and I-" Grief filled his expression. "-were never so blessed."

She looked at him horrified. "But I saw him, upstairs, right before. He was there and-" And she had been plugged into that machine, where she saw that agonizing light rip through and away from her, just like the light that obliterated her universe and ate through that existence. _Oh no. Oh, God, no._

Panic-stricken, she glanced up at the Doctor, who was looking at her expressionlessly, reevaluating his grip, so he held her more firmly as they departed the burning workhouse. _I somehow ate him away from existence. Something inside me destroyed him. My fault, all my fault. _She squeezed her eyes shut, finding herself nearly unable to breath. _But how?_

"Just hang on a bit, Sara, nearly there."

And then she knew. The Doctor had somehow manipulated whatever was inside her to dismantle his enemies with one unforeseen consequence.

"What have you done?" Her eyes met his in horror as the implications played out in her mind. _Better question is, what have I done?_

**Author's Note: I must thank my Beta FanFictionAuthoress and also LovelyAmberLight for her insightful comments regarding clarification. Reviews as always are helping in this process in guidance of the story.**_  
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	10. Spark

The Doctor found himself walking through the market with Jackson Lake and Rosita by his side while others in the town hurried about, whispering in nervous tones about the empty workhouse that caught ablaze only moments after all the children escaped.

"A miracle!" One had exclaimed. Indeed a further miracle that the fire hadn't spread to other parts of London and Christmas festivities could go on since they had been spared from tragedy. Very nearly, at any rate since Mercy Hartigan had been arrested and would be investigated for the murder of the workhouse owners since the children made sympathetic witnesses to her cruelties. The rest of what they endured, London citizens would attribute to shock and imagination, which solace would help them sleep sound at night.

"The city will recover, as London always does." Jackson shook his head in wonder. "And a new history begins for me. I find myself a widower," He glanced at Rosita and smiled. "But have earned a good friend."

With that, the Doctor looked at Rosita and in mere reflection of her name, pain seemed to lance through him in memory of his own Rose that he left on that distant beach in Norway. Before Sara arrived, he had spent the last two hundred years traveling to various destinations hoping to outrun his own misery and heartbreak. He remembered wishing she could have been there to witness him receiving the Cup of Athelstan from the King of the Welsh in 924 AD but no. By that time, he had spent decades witnessing both wars between China and Japan dating back to the sixteenth century and she would have long since been dead. _The curse of the time lords. _The words seethed inside him like rot.

"Now take care of that one." The Doctor said lightly, smiling at Rosita. "She's marvelous."

He had realized only too quickly that two hundred years wasn't nearly long enough to overcome his pain and to make matters worse, he was forced to carry along a passenger who was brimming with resentment. As usual, even under such hurried conditions, his calculations had been correct so while the electricity Sara was exposed to was agonizing, her injuries as a result were mostly superficial.

It was distinctly alarming that the disorientation was so specifically targeted on the perceived child of Jackson Lake but he had to assure himself that once Sara spent the imposed cycle in cell regeneration vault with the infusion of nanites and Neurotrophin-3 that he modified from its more simplistic protein structure, the confusion and dissociation would simply pass.

_What if it didn't? _He was filled with a vague uncertainty since he harnessed her energy properties based on a theory causing a feedback knowing at the time, it was the only way to save her life and to stop the Cybermen. He pondered momentarily at the consequences if his measurements might have been off by an imperceptible amount and despite the enormity of his intellect, he had to readily admit, he couldn't be certain.

"I will need someone to mind the house and I can think of none better. But you're welcome to join us. We thought we might all dine together, at the Traveller's Halt."

The Doctor glanced back at his Tardis and Jackson placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"For your lady friend too. A Christmas feast, in reminder of all we have lost. Won't both of you stay?" Jackson implored.

The Doctor approached the Tardis hesitantly turning to Jackson slowly. "Well, you know me. Must be getting onwards."

Jackson shook his head. "No, I don't think anyone does. And your friend, will she quite recover?"

The Doctor frowned. "She hasn't had the easiest times of late. Like me, all of her family is gone and I am the only one she has left. I'm responsible for her."

"Where is she?" Rosita demanded. "May I at least say good-bye?"

"She's inside, asleep." Lies came so easily. "I'll be sure to extend your farewells." Truth be told, his reassurances when he placed her in that vault seemed to fall on deaf ears and when he programmed the swarm of healing nanites, he could still hear her screams radiating from down the hall. He attributed it to claustrophobia, after all, he was used to the device and she was not.

He would of put her to sleep and indeed, his hands were moving to her temples but this caused her further panic so he decided to retreat. The nanites while frightening in appearance to a human completed their task without discomfort. He had even flooded the entire Tardis with nanites when there was an emergency, the last time being his venture with the reality bomb and the Daleks. They had disabled the Tardis's defenses and all of his companions were exposed to the radiation on the Crucible. Once his duplicate had the Tardis up and running again, he had flooded the console chamber just as a matter of sterilization.

Rosita seemed disappointed as she examined the Doctor with a calculating gaze. "Before the laudanum took hold, she said you stole her? Any truth to it?"

Jackson put his hand on her shoulder warningly. "Rosita, some eloquence please. Remember, he just saved all of our lives."

"Reckon the bolt of electricity he shot through her didn't help matters." She muttered.

The Doctor narrowed his gaze on her. _Very perceptive. Just like Rose. _"I need to get going." His voice was clipped and he shook his head. "I should check on her and you both have a feast to attend."

Their final farewells were brisk with a brief shake of hands and the Doctor promising to come and visit knowing full well he never would. Once the dimensional vault eliminated all traces of the Cybermen and the Dreadnaught, the memories of his visit would no longer exist. Nature certainly seemed to abhor a paradox.

Sara had finally been released from suffocating chamber and upon finding herself burn free; she swiftly headed to her room without a word. She didn't know what to say knowing she had eradicated a child's existence and what could she say to the Doctor to have him believe her. Indeed, if she continued on with the attempts to convince him, he might place her back in that coffin again and probably wouldn't hesitate this time with putting her to sleep. She could only fathom how horrible it would be to wake up feeling like your buried alive and the mere thought of it sent chills down her spine.

No. Let it be a lesson for the future. She had been to overcautious and kept her vigilance but she wouldn't allow this to happen again. One life slipped through her fingers and that was on her but if she could intervene sooner, then it wouldn't hang in such a balance. It was nerve wracking however, considering the ramifications and to vent her frustration, she seized a copy of _Jane Eyre _she had been reading and threw it against the wall. His voice suddenly startled her.

"Oi! Put things back where you found them, don't just leave them on the floor." The Doctor swept the volume off the floor while turning to Sara. "We have to go. Tear in the fabric of reality that is giving off a high volume of rhodium particles and I wonder-"

Sara seized the book from him and put it back on the table. "Then don't let me keep you." She was still feeling highly irritable and wanted nothing more then privacy at the moment. What wouldn't she give for the Doctor to have a willing companion that would listen to his nonsense and entertain him for a time for she wasn't up to the task twenty four hours a day. _Hmm, maybe I could talk Martha into coming back temporarily. _She frowned. No, that wouldn't work. Martha was married now and she very much doubted that her husband would appreciate her traveling with a man she previously fancied.

Shaking her head, she headed out to the corridor, walking quickly hoping the distance would allow her some respite but he simply followed her, taking her arm. "I need you there." He looked determined. "A tear in reality with high concentration of energy particles sound familiar?"

Sara felt a faint glimmer of hope. "You said my dimension was obliterated. Overwritten. Are you saying that it might still be out there?"

The Doctor paused debating whether to use this pretext to have her willingly accompany him on this venture outside the Tardis. It would be a flagrant deceit and any small amount of trust he had managed to garner with her would vanish once she found out, if she found out. _Could always tell her there that my readings verified my earlier findings once we got there. _He was uneasy about using such deplorable means. Lies were often necessary to save a life or to prevent panic but to give hope and then yank it away, well that was cowardly.

He took Sara by the shoulder's turning her to face him. "Listen to me. Your reality is gone." She attempted to jerk away but his grip remained firm. "I'm sorry. I am but your cells are in a state of flux with the energy inside you and this tear might provide decomposition elements radiating at the same frequency of your source particulates." He noticed her blank expression. "This hole in the fabric of reality might provide samples of leftover matter from your universe."

"You said my cells were in a state of flux but you electrocuted me."

"I reversed the polarity of the-"

"Whatever." Sara interrupted pulling away. "Couldn't that have done this?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"Oh right. You're so certain of that but you didn't think that-" _Crap. Stop it. _She nearly let slip the fact that she still thought Jackson Lake's son had been present. She bit her tongue vigorously to prevent any unintended ill words from slipping out which could lead back to that dreadful chamber he placed her in earlier.That place alone could inspire claustrophobia.

"Think what?"

She thought quickly. "Of how brutally painful it was to have all that electricity going through me. I felt I was burning alive when you decided to use me like a spark plug." At least that part wasn't a lie.

He sighed wearily. "If I didn't depolarize it, you would have died instantly and they weren't willing to negotiate."

She breathed a small sigh of relief that he had bought her small ruse as she attempted to move further down the hallway.

"We're back in London again." He said.

She turned to him puzzled. "We were in London before."

"But we're back in 2008. That's where the tear is. Shouldn't take but a minute and then there is this fantastic fish and chips shop I know."

No way she was eating that again and risking indigestion but that aside to be back in modern day London and to be reminded of her own sanity might be worth her own fatigue. If she was being honest with herself, she hadn't planned on sleeping anyway preferring insomnia to mind control and the machine that was still in her room.

"Fine, I'll go." She decided and he gave her a genuine grin while continuing to prattle on about the differing arrangement of energy molecules he was hoping to collect. She managed to tune him out while anticipating what it would be like to return to the London where she had emerged from her own reality. _At least it will remind me a bit of where I came from._

When they left the Tardis, Sara found herself on Crouch Hill Road directly across from a tube station however aside from the signs indicative of the underground, her environment seemed distinctly unfamiliar.

"What is this place? None of it looks familiar." She asked as he took her hand dragging her to the automated ticket both. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Need to get closer to the tear." He muttered as he probed the device with his sonic screwdriver, which obediently dispensed two Oyster cards. "Let's see if we can find a bus that goes through Gladwell Road. That's the closest point."

"A bus?" She asked faintly. _If this is what I think it is…_ The Doctor was handling a device that to the observer appeared much like a toy, yet it hummed and had a moving dish that rotated on the very top. She was filled with a weird sense of deja vu as the Doctor handed her an Oyster card and was about to proceed down the street only to stop and suddenly appear animated by the sight of a street vendor selling candy. Moments later, his hands were laden down with enough confections to keep a rampant sugar high extending for several days if one simply had the dedication.

"Really, Doctor? Cadberry chocolate eggs? You don't get cavities?"

"Don't be silly. I fully intend to share." He said offering the chocolate over for which she tentatively took one. "Why the sudden craving?" She asked.

"Would you believe it's Easter?" He exclaimed. "Never seem to get that day. Not really but here we are." He was distracted when he saw a double-decker bus approach nearby. "Impeccable timing." He said as he took her hand and dashing to the transport. Distantly in the background, Sara heard sirens giving her a feeling of wariness as she boarded. As they swiped their Oyster cards, the Doctor immediately chose to sit next to a young woman with hair, a shade darker then her own staring out the window with intent focus.

The Doctor had obviously startled her as she turned to him in alarm for which he flashed her a smile. "Hello, I'm the Doctor!" He immediately extended out the accumulation of chocolate he acquired. "Happy Easter!"

Sara felt her throat tighten as the woman turned to face the Doctor, looking perplexed but somewhat amused. She now remembered who the woman was and where this bus would soon be heading. _Crap. Happened too quickly. I should of known. _She silently started cursing herself as she glanced at the woman.

"Lady Christina." She muttered nearly under her breath.

Christina's attention snapped to Sara. "I don't believe we've been introduced. How do you know my name?"

The Doctor glanced at Sara. "My friend never seems to forget a face." He explained wryly.

"How unusual for an American." Christina gave Sara the once over. "I never forget a face too and I don't remember meeting yours so how did you come to know mine."

"Eclectic choice of hobbies I would imagine." Sara answered with a bit of a knowing smile. "Enjoy your evening at the museum?"

Christina seemed slightly taken aback. "Oh don't worry. I can't really sweat the small stuff. Your secrets safe with me and trust me, I'm not allowed to get out much." Sara's tone was bitter.

"Sounds tremendously dull. Is it him?" She pointed to the Doctor. "He never let you do anything fun?"

"Oi! It's not my fault if she doesn't have fun. You know, it's funny, I often don't do Easter."

"Don't do Easter." Sara repeated, shaking her head as Christina stared at him confused.

"Yes, I can never find it. It's always at a different time. Difficult enough now being a movable feast and all so it's make it even harder to pinpoint. Although I do remember the original." The Doctor seemed lost in thought.

"The original East-" Sara started to say and then realized what he meant. "You mean two thousand years ago when-"

"Well, of course. What else would I be talking about? Between you and me what really happened was I had feedback from the Synchronic Feedback Checking Circuit, which sent a massive energy spike into the Dimensional Stabilizers, which meant that the Exo-Plasmic Field was non existent and I was trapped for three days in the Tardis which nearly deactivated the entire temporal stabilizer-"

Sara interrupted him. "But did you actually get outside the Tardis and see what happened?"

"Naw. Didn't I say? Fixed point. Governing Circuit in the Tardis wouldn't allow me near it and if I tried, I could release chronal energy which would damage space and time." He explained as he stared at the machine in his lap.

"So your explanation for what really happened was that you weren't even there." Sara rolled her eyes as she glanced at Christina who raised her eyebrows in question. "Don't ask." She mouthed.

Turning back to the Doctor, a spark of curiosity shifted inside her. "So, what was the fixed point exactly?"

He looked up at her with confusion. Technically speaking time lords should know all the fixed points considering it was their burdens he had to carry but then, he stole his Tardis and never quite earned it through the conventional means. "Well, I, um," He paused thinking hard but the years he spent in the academy were so distant and he wasn't the most attentive of students. "I have no idea."

"No idea?" Sara was radiating in disbelief.

"I don't remember. Had my hands full at the time."

"Amazing." Christina said. "No wonder you don't have any fun but if I get through this, the two of us should talk." She said to Sara.

Sara started to laugh despite their predicament as she glanced out the window. "How hard do you think it would be to make off with the Crown Jewels?" She asked.

"Wait!" The Doctor interrupted their conversation. "Hold on to that for me." On a whim, he gave his entire stash of chocolate to Christina, which she took in distaste. "Actually you can have it. I need to keep these teeth as she reminded me." He glanced at Sara and pulled his device out. "Oh we've got excitation. I'm picking up something very strange."

"I know the feeling." Christina was looking nervously out the window.

"Doctor, wait." Sara said. "The hole, it's gotten larger hasn't it. This whole bus could be dragged in and-"

"Don't be silly. Still too small for that." The Doctor played with the device in his hand. "Rhodium particles. Just what I was looking for. I'm detecting them and that can give us some answers."

"Well good." Christina said. "Can you detect a way out at the same time?" Sarcasm riddled her tone. The sirens Sara had first heard when coming on board the bus was getting louder.

"Doctor, get them to stop the bus so this can be avoided.." Sara asserted attempting to get the Doctor's attention. He was too immersed in his device and she saw the tunnel looming overhead. "Never mind." She said. "I'll do it myself." She stood up to reach out her hand to yank on the cord signaling her desire to depart however she was suddenly yanked back down.

"There's no time for that." The Doctor said.

A woman in the back started to cry out. "The voices. So many voices. Calling to us. Calling so far."

Sara turned to see a black woman huddled next to another man. _The Psychic. _Their eyes met. "Your voice, your song, it's changing. You can feel that right? They are calling for you."

She found herself moving closer. "Who? Who is calling for me?"

The woman seemed to stare right through her. "The ones from in between. They aren't forgotten." She shook her head in puzzlement. "The darkness couldn't consume you. Not in this world or the next."

Sara couldn't take it anymore. The tunnel was coming up overhead and the Doctor's attention was on his device and not on her at the moment. Swiftly she ran up to the bus driver, yelling at him. "Stop the bus! You're going to die if you go through the tunnel!"

"Miss, sit back down!" The driver demanded. From the back, she heard the Doctor raising his voice in warning. "Sara."

She shook her head in refusal and stared at the bus driver remembering his death and the way his skeleton crumbled into ash. "No, I'm not going to sit back and let you die." With that, she seized the steering wheel and jerked it to the side. The bus listed and the driver hit the brakes in reflex as it hit the curb, tilting over completely and smashing glass in its wake. Somehow, during the frenzy, she was thrown backwards and down the aisle, distinctly feeling the metal seat that she got wedged between.

There was the distinct sound of groans emanating from all around her as she tried to move. "Stay down." She heard the Doctor whisper fiercely as the familiar noise of his sonic screwdriver was made apparent. "Do you know how close you came to killing everyone here including yourself?"

He had clearly yanked her backwards and into the seats otherwise she would have shot out the window but at the moment she only felt dazed and a bit stricken about the welfare of the other passengers. Upon releasing her, she managed to clamber up on her feet where the Doctor was making surreptitious scans of the others. Christina was on her feet next to Sara looking a bit scraped up but none the worse for wear as she headed for the large window in front. "Wait, you okay?" Sara asked hurriedly and Christina glanced back at her.

"I suppose." She said hefting her bag over her shoulder. "Not quite what I had in my mind in terms of a way out but it will do. With the chaos, they shouldn't even notice me."

Sara peeked back at the Doctor who apparently was satisfied with the condition of the passengers and had returned to his device with an apparent look of fascination at the tunnel. "He never listens to me." She muttered.

"From what I've seen, I wouldn't take that personally. Besides, I know men like him and they never care to hear anything but the sound of their own voice." The two managed to crawl out the front of the bus. "But you know all this from before. Something tells me you're not romantically involved."

The sirens were getting louder and Christina looked very alarmed and started to head to the tunnel before Sara grabbed her arm. "Trust me. You don't want to go that way."

"Why?" Christina demanded. "What's going on?"

Sara looked around quickly and grabbed an empty soda bottle that had been littered on the street. Hesitantly approaching the tunnel, she aimed and threw and the results were amazing to watch. The tear came alive like a curtain that seemed to swarm with differing points of light in each direction.

"If he continued driving into the tunnel…" Sara started to say.

"Everyone in the bus would likely have died depending on where the tear happens to be tethered too." The Doctor had come up to the two of them grinning apparently catching her demonstration. "Oh Sara, this is fantastic." Abruptly he swooped her up into a hug while pivoting around as she gasped, startled. "Now you just stay right here and don't move an inch." He said, releasing her while he made his way to the tunnel. "I'm just going to start my reading and particle collection."

"But the passengers?" Sara called out after him.

He waved her off. "They'll be fine. Mostly superficial. One call to UNIT will clear this all up." His focus, she could tell was on the rip in reality as opposed to his fellow occupants of the bus he was riding but at least it alleviated her mind that she hadn't seriously harmed anyone.

"You two see this stuff all the time don't you?" Christina asked in wonder, shaking her head. "I owe you a drink for saving my life."

"No, I…"

"He's going to be there a while. He won't even notice you're gone." Christina mused. _Yes he would. _She thought glumly. It was tempting but the consequences were too severe and besides, Christina couldn't afford to stick around. "You had better-"

Suddenly an additional voice came from behind them. "It's her. She's the one that overturn my bus. Can't be held at fault for that." The bus driver was there accompanied by two officers pointing at her accusingly. One of the officers approached her. "Is this true?"

"Not just me. Two others in the bus said she was right mad and took the wheel. This woman was in there too."

"Well look who we have here. Lady Christina Souza, just the person we were looking for." The officer looked at them with extreme satisfaction in his gaze. Scotland Yard will be awfully pleased to get their hands on her. "You are both under arrest." Sara was horrified to feel her arms seized as handcuffs slid over her wrists.

"Wait!" She said despairingly as both she and Christina were dragged to a waiting police car. "I need to tell him what is going on so he doesn't think I just disappeared. He's at the tunnel. Please!"

"Tell who? There's no one there." To her horror, Sara couldn't find the Doctor where he had been last taking recordings, which meant he could have wandered further around the tunnel entrance to study the tear and would not be able to be readily located. She knew full well that he would certainly draw the conclusion that she had taking the opportunity and ran.

And as the two of them were both shoved into the patrol vehicle, she remembered distinctly his warning. No second chances. Would she trade on prison cell for a lifetime of imprisonment aboard the Tardis if he refused to listen to her? _And for once, I actually didn't run this time._


	11. Author's Note

**Author's Note: Sorry to likely get you worked up for nothing but I completely revised chapter 10 so I suggest re-reading it as there is a significant plot chance that would likely confuse you when I do post chapter 11 which should be in the next couple days.**

**Again, my apologies. I just don't want to mess you guys up. Thanks to LovelyAmberLight for her assistance.**


	12. Concessions

"I'm sorry," Sara muttered to Christina.

"What for?" Christina whispered back.

Sara lifted her handcuffs behind her back, feeling the full weight of responsibility. If she hadn't interfered, the Doctor would have released Christina in the end, albeit while escaping on a flying bus. Somehow, the concept didn't seem entirely promising or realistic with aircrafts flying overhead, but once you accepted it as illusion and entertainment, such aspects could be dismissed…Until now, where the fantastic was reality.

"You saved my life, and I got to see something worth my time," Christina seemed to be twisting slightly where she was sitting in the back seat. Sara let out a brief gasp as one of Christina's hands clenched hers, deftly picking the lock on her cuffs with a metal tool.

"How-?" Sara asked softly, but Christina shook her head.

"I'm always prepared, watch for the red light and be ready to run."

Carefully, while watching the officer through the plastic casing in the front, she managed to muffle the sound of the cuffs by slipping them into the back pocket of her jeans. _How are we going to get out of the car?_

"But the doors-?"

"Have a run lock ignition remote switch embedded in my coat," Christina whispered. "Keep your hands behind you, but be ready to go."

Sara nodded, keeping herself alert as Christina hunched forward over her bag that had been thrown in the rear seat with them. Her stomach muscles were tense, waiting for the right time to bolt as she warily stared out the car window. "What about the police? Won't they catch us as soon as we get out?"

"Not if I lock them inside with the ignition. It'll buy us a few seconds," Christina muttered.

A red light was approaching up ahead, while fortunately, in their case, a hard plastic grating separated them from the officers up front. It would also give Sara and Christina an edge for which to escape their predicament, as Sara didn't look forward to having to explain why she didn't have her passport on hand, nor how her identity was non-existent.

The car pulled to a stop, and Sara heard the definable click and without pause opened the door on her side amidst the blaring of horns as cars screeched to a halt. The two girls hurtled their way through traffic, barely hearing the officers call out in outrage behind the car doors, and suddenly, she heard the sirens turned back on.

"They'll radio for back up to our location. We need to clear the vicinity and hide out for a bit," Christina advised. It became clear that such an endeavor turned out to be nearly a mile, as Sara recognized Parliament and Westminster where they eventually ended up in Trafalger's Square. Christina led her through a pack of tourists into the theater district where she spotted a pub nearest to Her Majesty's Theater.

"So we're just going to hide in plain sight? I should get back, you don't know what he'll do, if he thinks I just took off," Sara said nervously, looking at the pedestrians outside. _How will I explain any of this to the Doctor?_

"It's after eleven, so the underground is closed by now and taking a taxi is out of the question, since they'll be alerted to look out for us. Trust me on this, as for your friend, what's his number?" Christina pulled out a prepaid mobile as they went to sit at a table nearest a window to be in view of the traffic.

Sara closed her eyes and shook her head stupidly. "Never got around to that."

"It sounded like you lived together, but you don't know his phone number?" Christina looked at Sara pragmatically.

"You ask that as if it were a mutual relationship, but it's not." She released a sigh as they both ordered their drinks.

Christina raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying he's been holding you against you will?" She shook her head in amazement. "He intrigued me, but I read him all wrong. I never imagined that."

"Nor did I," Sara's focus was entirely on a crack on the table as their drinks were served, since the anxiety she felt ate away at her nerves.

"But you want to go back?" Christina looked at her doubtfully. "Is this some kind of Stockholm's Syndrome?"

"No!" Sara's head shot up. "It just doesn't matter where I run, because he'll find me." She swallowed miserably. "He always does, and last time I ran, he gave me a warning, but now…" Her voice trailed off.

"But now?" Christina prompted.

"If I don't return and he finds me, I'll be locked up for life. He doesn't believe in second chances."

Sara sat back, allowing the glass of Cabernet Franc to ease some of the tension out of her nerves. Christina stirred her aperitif idly as she kept a ready glance on the windows. "So who is he then?"

"That's a loaded question," Sara mused. "But he's the Doctor."

"The Doctor," Christina repeated. "That's it? The Doctor of what? Doctor who?"

Sara chuckled, "It's just the Doctor. He doesn't seem to prefer his real name." _And no wonder, since on Gallifrey, parents just love naming their children something that'll take thirty-eight syllables to say. _It was true she had come across his name only to agree with the use of an alias, because otherwise, it would have been dreadful in simple introductions with other species.

"So he kidnapped you but acts the part of a mad genius. What does he want you for?" Christina was nothing if not perceptive.

"I'm an anomaly, and he's not from around here, nowhere near."

"He's not human." Christina shrugged as Sara glanced up at her in surprise. "I just saw a tear in our reality, which both of you knew about, and our planet was nearly destroyed last year by aliens." She looked at Sara thoughtfully. "Were both of you there for that?"

"He was, I wasn't." She shuddered. "They built a reality bomb to destroy the universe with every single alternative existence to this one. There were consequences and not every reality survived."

"You're from another dimension," Christina stated, shaking her head as if she was trying to wrap her mind around the possibility.

"One that was overwritten by this universe, because the walls between reality weakened and the stuff that cushions those realities from each other became nearly nonexistent, until the Doctor restored them…just a bit too late for mine," Sara explained, swallowing hard.

"So, he saved our universe at a cost to yours," Christina concluded. "But how did you survive?"

"And that is the very reason why the Doctor keeps me onboard," Sara answered. "Curiosity and, well…" Her voice trailed off.

"Well, what?" Christina prodded.

"Moral responsibility. When I got here, I was convinced it a nightmare and in my universe, the Doctor is portrayed by a human actor. None of this should have been real. So, I wanted to find a way to get myself to wake up. I tried to jump off a bridge, because I thought if I fell in a dream-"

"You would actually wake up in real life." Christina shook her head. "No wonder, so I'm guessing he stopped you, seeing as you're still alive."

"Yes, knocked me out and took me on board his ship. You don't think I'm mad?"

"The thought never crossed my mind. If I lost everyone like you did, I might consider jumping off a bridge too," Christina sympathized. "You said this was all fiction in your dimension, so you watched all of this like a movie?"

"As you would say, on the telly, the Doctor is an alien that travels from place to place and saves the world with the help of his female entourage." Sara rolled her eyes briefly.

"Hmm…" Christina sipped her beverage. "You don't strike me as one who likes science fiction."

Sara was surprised. "You're right, I'm more into the classics, although I loved watching Sherlock and musical theater." She grimaced. "I have a couple friends who were fans, and it was a concession we made watching our favorite shows in turn." She shook her head. "Ironic, it should have been them here, but no, they're gone, blinked out of existence."

"Well, it could be worse," Christina mused sarcastically. "You could have been stuck in a dimension where Twilight was considered reality."

Sara's hands flew to her mouth. "You know, you're right, being trapped with the Cullens would likely be far worse." Suddenly, Sara started laughing, her first feeling of joyous mirth since this insanity began and her giggles came in such great bursts that she thought she could hardly stop the tremors of laughter down her shaking body. It was a joyous sensation, unexpected, but completely welcome to feel that connection once again with something akin to happiness.

"I think I have a solution." Christina folded her hands on the table.

"A solution?"

"You're not having any fun with him, and right now I have nothing to lose. Let me come with you two, I can assure you, I'm far more entertaining."

Sara nearly choked on a sip of wine. "Christina, I'm not going to lie to you. He's dangerous, and the places he visits are hardly considered safe. I'm trapped, you're not, and you shouldn't-"

"Exactly, you're trapped and miserable. Alien or not, he's still a man, and I'm usually prepared for anything. I'll be doing both of you a favor."

"Christina," Sara hesitated. "He had other companions before, very willing companions."

"What happened to them?"

"In the past three years? One is stuck in another dimension with his duplicate. The second was turned from becoming a doctor into a soldier, prepared to end all life on earth. The last one ended up with a psychic lobotomy," Sara said quickly. "He lost them all and swore never again, until I showed up but I'm not his companion."

"Because you didn't have a choice." Christina's eyes were filled with pity. She reached out and clasped Sara's hand. "My family squandered away my inheritance and died leaving nothing but debt, so I was left quite abandoned too, imprisoned by circumstances, forced to take action when loan sharks came calling. And now, it's a lifestyle." She gestured to the bag at her feet that she had managed to seize out of the police car. "He might force you into a set of circumstances, but I can show you how to make the most of them."

"That is, if he doesn't lock me up in the Tardis as soon as he lays eyes on me," Sara muttered.

"The Tardis, interesting name for the ship I would wager, would love to see it, but you forget another benefit for having me along."

Which is?"

"I can vouch for you." Christina smiled. "I can say we were both arrested and that you even called out for him, but he was no where to be found. Surely that would help me curry favor?"

Sara gave a small smile. "With me, definitely. With him?" She shrugged. "Who knows? I can't say I wouldn't mind the company."

Suddenly, a blare of sirens was heard outside, and Christina, ever alert, slapped some bills down on the table. "Need to make our way out slowly and just try to walk normally, anything else will get their attention."

They exited the pub as police cars were heading down the street, the two girls pressing their way to the walls of the theater, so to be undistinguished. It was a decent plan, if not slow going. Sara's heart was pounding with every footfall. Suddenly their position was illuminated in light by one of the police cars, and Christina seized her hand.

"Run," she said, and they did, going in and out of the circuitous streets until they ended near the Rose Theater, where Christina spotted a small alleyway that went behind the building and further down the road. It was nearly indistinguishable, which would possibly make it safer for them to hide, if the police were combing the area searching for them. There stood a chance they might have missed this one street.

Swiftly, they ran down the darkened alley and huddled behind crates, keeping a fervent eye out for any flashlights that would appear down this nearly pitch-black street.

Sara ran swiftly towards the back of the alley, while taking a moment to glance over her shoulder to see if they had pursuers. Suddenly, she ran directly into a figure that seemed to have been lurking there in the dark, and Sara let out a gasp as she felt hands clench her upper arms. She instantly began to struggle against the perpetrator but his grip held firm.

"One chance, Sara, I gave you one chance," a voice whispered in her ear and Sara felt as though her heart was sinking in her chest. Towards the back of the alley, she could make out the faint glow that must be the Tardis, and without another word, he started to drag her towards it.

"No, wait, I didn't run. I swear, I didn't, I was arrested. You have to believe me," Sara protested, and he paused. There was just enough light to see him examine her with a cold, calculating stare.

"Arrested?" His eyes glittered as his tone registered disbelief. "Did the police get lost driving back to Scotland Yard?"

"We escaped." Already, she knew how her words sounded, but she endeavored on. "Christina and I were arrested together, and she got us out, but the underground was closed, just ask her!" Sara's breaths were starting to come far too quickly, and she was close to hyperventilating at the possibility he would imprison her inside. His stare seemed to go right through her. He thought she was lying, that much was clear, and he shook his head, pulling her forward. Christina then immediately interceded, by placing her hand directly on his arm. He looked at her, apparently startled.

"You need to think about what you're doing and give her the benefit of the doubt," Christina advised. "I was there when it happened. She even called out for you, but you were nowhere in sight."

"And you are?"

"Lady Christina de Souza," she said briskly. "Now that we dispensed with the formalities, will you consider what we have to say?"

"You already know who I am?"

"Your _friend _filled me in while we were hiding out, mind you in plain sight, from the police." The Doctor stared at the woman doubtfully, given the story seemed a bit too convenient for the circumstances of the evening. He had merely turned his back to circumvent the tear for only ten minutes, and Sara had disappeared leading him to do a frantic search after closing the gap in reality to hunt his wayward companion down. The way the two women had been speaking on the bus, it did seem they were speaking rather conspiratorially with each other, and this was what he was expected to belief. A story that the two of them happened to get arrested at the same time and then escaped moments later, and were simply larking about London waiting for him to show up.

"Do you know why I find it so difficult to believe any of what you have to say?" The Doctor inquired coldly.

Sara finally found her voice. "Actually no." She tried to yank her arm free. "Why don't you call Scotland Yard, and see if they are on the lookout for anyone matching our descriptions? Why don't you call UNIT and use your authority to look into this matter?" She swallowed hard. "Better yet, look into my mind." Her skin crawled at the very suggestion at the mere thought of the Time Lord sifting through her thoughts, crawling inside her brain. She took a deep breath. "I'll give you full permission, if you promise one thing."

"Which is?"

"If you even think to do what you did to Donna, trust me, I will know, and _you_ will know the full extent of the meaning of the words of 'hell having no fury like a woman scorned.'"

He considered her briefly. "You would let me into your mind willingly."

"To show you I'm telling the truth, that Christina is telling the truth."

He sighed, "Telepathic communication usually only works best between other Time Lords. Human minds aren't always compatible beyond just basic commands and memory wipes."

Sara thought quickly. "But Reinette in France-?"

"An unusual case. You're still recovering from peripheral neuropathy. The human mind is such a delicate thing."

"I didn't run away!"

His face was expressionless. "I will call UNIT and see if they can collaborate this story with the police, but until then-"

"No, you can't-" She protested.

"One rule, one warning Sara." He grip tightened on her arm.

"Wait!" Christina called out. "Sara, the cuffs, you still have them in your pocket, show him." Sara glanced at Christina and removed the cuffs from her jeans, handing them to the Doctor, who looked at them carefully. Removing his sonic screwdriver, he could tell they had been expertly picked and the serial number did match that of the Scotland Yard. Traces of uncertainty started to lance his way through his determination that Sara had, indeed, made a run for it at the soonest available opportunity. _Maybe she is telling the truth. _It just seemed so convenient that she was arrested while he was closing the tear, which was tricky in itself. But after he ran a capacity scan, collected particles for analysis he released a compressed burst of feedback through a counter oscilliation with the intent that once he returned to his TARDIS, he would redirect the swarm that his equipment picked up to an uninhabited planet. Then he found her missing in the space of only ten minutes.

"You can see they are specifically issued from that department, and if you call to the officers in question from whom we escaped, your friend was just at the wrong place at the wrong time," Christina said as she shifted her bag down off her shoulder and removed a metal tool, which likely had been the instrument that had been used to procure their freedom.

"Arrested too, you say?" The Doctor glanced down at her bag. "Strangely enough, I was in Wales at 924 AD. I don't recall seeing you there."

The Doctor had instantly recognized the artifact he had once been rewarded to him as the very same Cup of Athelstan that, as far as he could recall, now resided in a museum. Now the conversation that Sara and Christina had earlier about the latter's venture in a museum started to make far more sense to him. "You're a thief," he concluded.

"I prefer to say I'm a liberator, maybe I have a peculiar sense of fun," Christina replied. "Besides, I always come prepared, it's one of my better qualities."

"I would have called you, but you never gave me a phone number." Sara looked down at the ground. "Guess it never occurred to you."

"You just disappeared, tell me, what was I supposed to think?"

"That I was better off falling from that bridge then ending up with you."

An uncomfortable silence seemed to echo in the alley with the only sound being the distant echo of sirens.

"That's my decision to make." His voice regained the familiar chill. "You're my responsibility."

Sara looked at him horrified, while Christina simply shook her head. "Typical, so you took her under the pretext of responsibility, but you make her life hell and you wonder why she disappears?" She chuckled. "Have to hand it to you, space-man, that's a good one."

The Doctor seemed startled by Christina's response and there was a visible sadness in his eyes. "I had a friend who used to call me that," he muttered, suddenly appearing distant.

_Donna. _Sara thought as she looked at Christina.

"And what would she tell you now if she were here?" Christina asked.

Sara felt a surge of relief at seeing the iciness start to drain from the Doctor's features as he offered Sara a look of contrition. "I didn't consider-" He started to say wearily to her. "I'm sorry." His grip eased on her arm, as he started to venture aboard the Tardis, this time only gently pulling Sara along.

"Wait a second." Sara took a step back. "If she's still willing, I want Christina to come too."

"No," the Doctor said firmly.

"No?" Sara said in disbelief. "After all she's done to help me, get me out of trouble? Doctor, she'll get arrested again, she'll go to prison!"

"Yes, she will, and it's not my problem. You're my only responsibility."

"And what does that make you? You stole your own Tardis out of a museum too! Ring any bells?" His face seemed impassive.

"Then I guess I'll take my chances with her," Sara replied stubbornly as she tried to back away towards Christina. The sirens were starting to get louder. The Doctor felt his anger starting to return, and he tightened his grip on her arm.

"You know that is not an option."

"And social isolation is? Or how about this," Sara took one last stab at negotiation before she ended up being dragged onboard empty handed. "Agree to take Christina along, and I won't make your life difficult. I'll do what you tell me without a word in edgewise." It was an extreme sacrifice on Sara's part, but at the moment, her sanity depended on it. "Doctor, I just want a friend on board, someone I can actually talk to."

"What about me?"

"Doctor, you're over 900 years old, give or take 500 years. I'm much like the human equivalent of adopting a cat." He winced at that comparison. "Okay, maybe a dog, but you know we have nothing in common, and I simply can't call you a friend." He examined Christina warily and Sara took that as a good sign. "Please, it will make things less miserable for both of us, and she actually wants to be there."

The Doctor considered her argument carefully and evaluated Christina. Of course, he was sympathetic to Sara's needs but often keeping one human companion alive was a full time task, much less two. _She must really be desperate. _Still, the constant back talk and incessant arguing that riddled the last week might be worth the additional passenger, and Christina seemed clever and resourceful. "Do you have an idea what you're risking by joining us?" The least he could do was be clear with her before she stepped onboard.

"My life, I suppose. I do like a good adventure."

"Not just that, your sanity too. Still sure you want to go?"

Christina looked at the Tardis with intense consideration. "How far exactly can you travel in that thing?"

"Anywhere, within reason, in time and space."

Christina nodded thoughtfully, glancing at Sara. "Then I'll take the risk." She moved closer to the Doctor smoothly. "Trust me, soon you'll come to find me indispensible." Her tone was mildly flirtatious.

The Doctor seemed initially distracted by her charm before he turned to Sara. "You made a promise in order to have her on board: no back talk, no arguments, no complaints." He inclined his head to Christina, while keeping his gaze fixed on Sara. "I expect you to keep it."

It burned Sara to make this concession, but she told herself it was worth it to have someone normal on the Tardis and having an ally that would provide an additional distraction for the Doctor might make up for any sacrifice she had to give in turn. Besides, she was certain once he got to know Christina, the natural chemistry she saw on the show would certainly take over, and she would provide a wealth of diversions.

"I intend to." Sara glanced behind her upon sudden movement, and she took a swift intake of breath as flashlights bounced around the alley walls.

"Right." The Doctor held the door open, waving them both inside. "Let's get to it."

"All three of us?" Christina asked Sara in surprise.

"Bigger on the inside," Sara said hurriedly, grabbing Christina's hand and pulling her through the door, which the Doctor swiftly shut behind them and then moved to the console to start the dematerialization sequence.

"You weren't joking." Christina was clutching one of the blue coral branches as the Tardis began to shake beneath their feet.

"Any requests?" The Doctor interrupted them.

"What about somewhere amazing?" Christina replied readily, and Sara could tell that the Doctor was attempting to suppress a smile.

Sara had taken the liberty of showing Christina the wardrobe room for which they traded their torn clothing into similar pairs of jeans and tops. "This definitely beats my closet at home," Christina observed.

They had taken to relaxing on Sara's bed, since she was unaware of how long it would take for the Tardis to design quarters for Christina. "You know, by giving him carte blanche, he could throw us into a planet where human sacrifices are considered a form of entertainment," Sara explained.

"Was that what happened last time?"

"No, a group of robots tried to electrocute me to join their collective."

"Did it work?"

"In a sense, the Doctor electrocuted me instead. Still sure you want to come?"

"Of course, but," Christina paused, "He seems a bit moody."

"Call it a mid-life crisis, he also severed ties with all of his companions at once."

"And you said he actually psychically lobotomized one? You offered to let him into your mind, but you were terrified of it," Christina observed. "That's how he did it, wasn't it?"

"He erased almost two years of her life, the person she was, is now dead."

"Gruesome, I would rather die."

"Me too." Sara looked at Christina straight on. "But that is something else, the Doctor doesn't fully believe in free will, when it comes to personal choice. Since you're here, you must be careful."

"I'm always careful."

"Careful about what?" Sara jerked her head around as the Doctor entered her room with raised eyebrows, and she managed to partially muffle her sigh of annoyance.

"To not get lost," Christina covered smoothly as she casually flicked an invisible particle off her jeans.

"Very good point," he agreed. "I only have one rule: Don't wander off."

Christina got up and walked over to him idly. "I'm usually not very big on rules." The Doctor stopped short and silently gave her a searching stare as she approached while Sara groaned inwardly. Christina then smiled coyly while flexing her arms. "But for you, I'll make an exception."

His features relaxed and he seemed almost amused at her joke as Sara chuckled in relief. The idea of having her along was getting better all the time, and the Doctor seemed better humored. "Good, then let's be off."

"Where?"

"Actually, it's when. The year 12010, the New Roman Empire is flourishing and there's a gladiator match scheduled later today. What do you think?" He offered a grin. "Want to compete?"

"Gladiator matches," Christina repeated. "As in armed combat to the death in the coliseum?"

"Oh no, not allowed anymore. Though I did hear rumors of a black market trade." He shrugged. "Makes you wonder."

"But it's safe?" Sara asked, attempting to keep her voice as calm as possible.

"The black market trade? Bit dodgy if you ask me-"

"No, the New Roman Empire, the whole thing," she clarified.

He leaned against the wall observing them. "About as safe as anything I suppose. Humans get on fairly well right now; always exceptions but in general. The Menoptera who sometimes visit Earth do too, as long as the Zarbi aren't around." He sighed, "Two insectoid races that can't seem to coexist peacefully but friendly otherwise. I want to check their artisan's quarter, because I hear they have some brilliant styles that rival Time Lord Art."

Sara sighed as she followed Christina and the Doctor to the console room, and then to the door with Christina exited the Tardis first in eagerness. As Sara was about to leave, she came to a halt as he gripped her arm firmly. "You'll remember our deal, won't you, Sara?" His voice was flat as he looked at her levelly.

Her throat became dry as she stared back at him managing a nod. _Does he really think we made it all up, the arrest, everything?_

She swallowed as she attempted to regain her composure. "I told you the truth, I didn't run."

"Good, so no more _accidents_ this time." He put a special emphasis on the word 'accidents.'

"Sometimes things happen, what happened to understanding that? I-"

She flinched as his other hand landed on her opposing arm. "I used to have so much understanding and so much mercy, but you know what happened?" She didn't even bother answering him, only feeling a chill in the pit of her stomach. "My planet was destroyed, and I'm so old now. You have one chance." He beckoned to the door. "This is it."

_Why is this all going terribly wrong?_

**Author's Note: Thank you to FanfictionAuthoress for being my beta and LovelyAmberLight for her inspiration. Thanks to all of you for your support. Your reviews are an inspiration as well and give me direction too!**


	13. Somatoform

Sara blinked back tears as she opened the door and joined Christina outside the TARDIS who was watching the city ahead of her with fascination. "What took you so long? I-" Christina paused, looking at Sara directly. "Where's the Doctor? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sara covered swiftly, inclining her head behind her where the Doctor was leaning against the door of the TARDIS, now preoccupied with a phone conversation concerning his success of how he managed to nudge the creatures to uninhabited world without incident. She had no desire to listen to anymore technical details as she raced out the door over to Christina, who he had been swift in mentioning that she was Sara's responsibility, and even if he weren't so adamant regarding those instructions, she would have felt inclined to take on that role nevertheless. By no means, did she want to ruin her new friend's first venture on the TARDIS and thus her first adventure by her own personal disputes.

She could tell Christina was not accepting her word as she took her hand pulling her a few feet away from the TARDIS but still within sight of the Doctor when he decided to emerge.

"Tell me," her voice was firm. Sara shook her head, and Christina sighed. "You know, I've dealt with worse than him. I've turned my back on other partners and believe me, however trapped they make you feel, no one can take from you what really counts."

Sara gave a brief smile. "Here to save me?" She swallowed as a stray tear managed to trickle down her cheek. "Because that is what he claimed, you see how well it turned out."

'_I time travel and I don't understand why you would throw yourself off a bridge?' _She could remember his words so clearly when he had intervened that fateful day, and, surely, it would be burned forever into her mind._'Your world is gone, it has been written out of existence, obliterated.'_It was times like this, that she wished he had simply let her plummet.

"No," Christina said. "He may have yanked you off a bridge, but no one can pull you back from anywhere." She clasped Sara's other hand. "Trust me, I learned this the hard way, but either you save yourself or you remain unsaved. No one can do that for you."

The lump that formed in Sara's throat became larger. "I don't think I can do this anymore," she whispered.

"That's where you're wrong," Christina countered. "I know what you're capable of, because I saw you go head to head with him, and you didn't back down. "

"I gave up," Sara exclaimed. "I said I would let him have his way!"

"No, you negotiated. There's a difference, and I'm very savvy with negotiations and the fine print involved. No where did you say that you would 'give up,'" Christina affirmed.

Sara was silent as she stood looking at the city looming in front of her. It looked majestic with differing vehicles speeding in and out overhead through the air, hardly making a sound, and the buildings, while accented in some of the ancient Roman flair, were also twinkling in various hues. Only a short distance, she could see the Coliseum, no longer a crumbling ruin, but a momentous amphitheater and seeming to be a crowning jewel of this marvel of a city. When she breathed, she was surprised, momentarily, at how clean the air smelled to that of London or even from Seattle, at home. All the scents of nature seemed to stand out sharply, the grass, the flowers, even the smell of the ocean with the residual tang of the sea salt was startling.

"So, what happened?"

"He didn't believe me."

"He didn't-" Christina pondered her words. "Did he specifically say that?"

"Did he have to?" Sara threw up her hands. "After all I went through, I offered to let him into my mind. Do you know what a sacrifice that was for me? Do you know how the thought sickened me, but I wanted him to know I was telling the truth and that, for once, I was being honorable, only for that to fly back in my face and have him tell me 'no more accidents?'" She mimicked. "Because I really wanted to get arrested and break free to try to prove to him that for once, just once, I followed his rules, and for what? Nothing!"Her voice was elevating.

"Sara-" Christina started to say.

"No!" She headed over to a nearby tree and, without a thought, slammed her fist against it. The flash of pain lanced through her arm, but it was worth it. "All for nothing!" Her tears started again, and she was unable to regain proper control but then she found she didn't care to. What was the point, when she was considered nothing but a liar, and now she was crying,giving way to despair? She clenched both fists as she prepared to vent her last anger into the tree. "It's all so fucking _pointless_!" She hardly ever cursed, but it was fueled by her rage and grief as she started to slam her hands once more into the tree only to have them caught in midair.

"No, it's not," the Doctor said quietly holding her wrists firmly. She was startled as she lowered her head, fighting to blink back the tears that were streaming down her face. She attempted to turn away from him, but he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I just talked to Captain Magambo and verified your story."

He knew any apology would be considered a hollow gesture to make up for his lack of trust earlier, since he had allowed his temper to overcome his better judgment. Now just after using his superphone to contact UNIT, he had observed Sara taking out her anxiety into a tree, completely volatile and distraught. _Why didn't I listen? _

But he knew why, even if he didn't care to admit it openly. Humans had remarkable intuition and instinct of perception. Time Lords did not, and that would be his shortcoming, where often a willing companion offset the balance. Sara was disinclined, so he discounted her too easily as a liar, and his pride would have caused him to make a serious mistake, if one had not been made already. _But look at her. _She was trembling, trying in vain to keep her tears at bay, looking more lost than when he first brought her aboard the ship.

"You believe me?" She whispered uncertainly.

He closed his eyes, feeling the regret for the last words he said to her before she exited the ship. He had only meant to be firm, but truth be told, he still had his doubts, but now he had confirmed that she was a mere victim of circumstance, one that he callously threatened, using words intended for an enemy combatant. _What was I thinking, saying that to her?_

She still kept her eyes fixed on the ground, possibly afraid to meet his eyes, feeling that she would only see his cold fury waiting for her there.

"Look at me, Sara."

She shuddered and still kept her eyes fixed on their original location. "It's all right, just look at me," his voice was compelling, and finally, her gaze met his.

"I'm really sorry." His words were brief, and she nodded mutely, and as she was about to bow her head down, he pulled her in close to him, holding her in a still embrace. Her heart seemed to beat frantically as she initially resisted the hug and then, finally, relented. He could hear her trying to stifle back sobs as he stroked her hair, while glancing over her shoulder at Christina who looked straight at him, nodding approvingly.

When he finally let her go, Sara stepped back attempting to promptly wipe her face, only to have the Doctor notice that blood was starting to mix with her tears. Calmly, he reached out, and, reluctantly, she offered him her injured hand, hissing at the familiar burn as he adjusted his sonic screwdriver to cauterize and seal the wounds.

"Will you show me how to do that?" Christina asked, intrigued.

"You want me to injure myself again?" Sara asked in disbelief as she accepted the offer of a handkerchief from the Doctor to clear away the residual blood.

"Well, no, I could always do that to myself."

"No!" For once the Doctor and Sara said the word in unison.

"Well, then, you see, for once you both agree about something," Christina smirked. "And it's about time, now shall we explore?" She glanced at the city sprawling ahead. "Maybe the coliseum, although, I would prefer a little shopping."

"We have two hours before the match begins, and I want to see Artisan's Row, anyway," he replied as they ventured down into the city, leaving the TARDIS near a sheltered enclosure of trees. As they made their way inside the city, Sara could see how they tried to imitate some of the old neoclassicism architecture to blend with the more modern designs, which created an odd combination of the classic pillars with the modern rainbow hue of the buildings. The colors seemed to alternate rapidly, depending on what angle the sun hit the structure, almost creating a rainbow effect, which was dizzying to look at.

Before preceding further, the Doctor stopped in front of an elaborate looking machine that appeared to require a thumbprint or a retina scan. It was difficult to determine which, but he simply lifted his sonic screwdriver and scanned the machine, which promptly distributed three exceedingly tiny chips for which he scooped up in his hand.

"Need to see your arms," he said to both of them. Christina looked wary but held out her limb first, which the Doctor took with one of the chips and, while using his sonic screwdriver, placed it directly on her skin.

As his setting changed, she yelped in pain, "What did you do that for? That hurt!"

"Currency, you said you wanted to go shopping. They don't take credit cards, and robbing museums is certainly out of the question."

Christina rubbed the tender flesh of her wrist, shaking her head. "Could have warned me," she muttered.

Sara flinched as he inserted the chip underneath her skin, but having undergone two occasions with the properties of that particular tool, she simply endured it without a word.

As she glanced around, Sara noticed a replica of the Trevi Fountain just nearby where they stood; recognizing it from pictures her parents had taken of the site from when they had previously visited. "A wishing well," she murmured as she approached it, reaching into her purse for a couple coins. It truly wasn't a well, since the Trevi Fountain was actually an exquisite work of art, significantly bigger than a hole dug in a ground with sculptures in the back, but she had the habit of calling any object she could throw coins in and make wishes that very same phrase, often to the past befuddlement of her friends. It was a bit silly to think that tossing money into the fountain would make your desires comes true, but since she entered this crazy existence, she wouldn't pass up the brief nostalgia. As she was about to throw a coin in, a hand grabbed her elbow.

"No!" The Doctor had stopped her from completing such an innocuous activity, but for what? She looked at him in confusion.

"It's a hologram. That's where the Menoptera keep their larvae, which is directly underneath and throwing anything at it would be very offensive."

Sara flushed. "Oh, I, ah, I didn't know, it looked so real."

"Well, it would. Larvae pools are not very attractive, but the humans and the Menoptera have trade arrangements in place, so as long as things like this stay concealed, everyone wins."

"Sorry." She felt utterly ridiculous.

"It's all right." He shrugged. "Typical really, holograms, using them to keep up appearances." He narrowed his eyes at her. "You _do_ know there is so such thing as wishing wells, right?" She didn't strike him as one given to fantastical concepts, since apart from her brutal change in circumstances, she seemed largely rational. _Is this a recent development? Maybe there's been a further flux in her-_

"Yes," she admitted wearily. "But I do think there is such a thing as having an imagination."

The Doctor grimaced as she walked back to Christina and shrugged. Flight of fancy, he wagered, humans did have those on occasion.

Leading them to artisan's row, Sara couldn't help but notice that the people she did see looked terribly altered in appearance. She briefly reflected on Cassandra, but that was the extreme, however, the other human beings seemed to be making strides in that direction. Their skin was pulled in various directions, much of it dyed, so it was a mixture between the appearance of flesh and that of various other shades. The similar rainbows she saw highlighted in the building as even their clothing seemed to have a luster about it that caused Sara to see several different colors at once.

Once at a particular corner, she noticed the Doctor adjusting the setting on his sonic screwdriver and aiming it at his own arm in particular. "There, all set. Well, I'll meet you back here in an hour. Don't spend that all in one place." He gestured to their wrists.

Sara was taken aback. _After all that, he is just going to trust us, trust me to wander around on our own._

He folded his arms across his chest analyzing them neutrally, tapping his wrist. "Did a few upgrades, bio-neural silicon feedback settings are on, so you're unable to go six hundred feet from me in any direction. Better safe than sorry, eh?"

He said it so casually, but Sara felt vaguely sickened. Exactly how was she going to get this device out of her skin later? He seemed so contrite in his apology and maybe he was. Yes, she could tell he believed her, and, for a moment, she had forgotten the ugliness that had been in the past and allowed the embrace, trying to remember the good character she saw in the TV show. True, she had been reluctant at first to watch the episodes, but found herself getting involved with the plot and asking questions of her other friends who had seen some of the classic installments.

Even if she decreed that she thought the character was an anti-hero, she readily admitted he had attempted to do a lot of things worth value in his time and for a moment, she allowed her mind to dwell on the good versus the bad. But staring at her wrist proved that, despite contrition, he would still keep her and thereby Christina on relatively a short leash, and he found a way to manipulate them into volunteering to have these things inserted.

She was about to make an angry retort but bit her tongue just in time, remembering her promise as she glanced at Christina. _What if she leaves anyway after this? _She couldn't very well blame Christina after this display but such a proposition filled her with dread. Christina glanced at her, gave her a vague smile and rolled her eyes.

"That's what I always say," Christina replied coolly. "And I usually have good instincts."

"Instincts," the Doctor mulled. "That's something humans and my people don't share."

"They do come in handy at times," Christina replied. "Fight or flight, whether or not to trust someone, it's human intuition."

"Trust is earned," he replied flatly.

"Likewise."

He couldn't help but be impressed at Christina's ability to verbally spar with him, and surely, all circumstances aside, she would have made an ideal companion, for she was adventurous and witty but not argumentative. Certainly valuable traits, at least in his perspective, since as a human, she had just the right balance. Sara obviously insisted that she be brought along as an advocate, but this might work to his favor. Certainly, she could follow the cues of a willing companion more readily and given time, his decision to allow for two passengers might have been the best negotiation he ever struck.

"See you both in an hour." He waved and headed deeper into the artisan's district.

"I can't believe this," Sara muttered.

"I can." Christina shrugged, as Sara looked at her bewildered. "As I said, I've seen worse."

"So you don't want to go home after this?"

"Why would I?" Christina turned. "Because of this?" She held up her wrist. "Because there are always ways to fry a circuit board, if that's what you're worried about, but no, you see it as a leash, don't you?"

Sara rubbed her arm and glanced at Christina. "He just seemed that he was sorry-"

"And I'm sure he was, but he's also an alien and you're fitting him into a human mold. I can't pretend to understand his customs and how they work, but you said he's how old?"

"Well, it's hard to be sure, he lies about his age. I would safely guess over 950 years old."

"I see, well, I'm twenty-eight and you're..?"

"Twenty-four."

"We're fractions of his age, children forever playing at his feet."

"It doesn't sicken you?" Sara asked.

"As I said, he's still a man, and even children can stroke a man's ego. That's what you need me for. Besides, would you rather have him hovering over you every second? Even freedom with boundaries is better than no freedom at all, and we're wasting time. Let's have some fun!"

Sara nodded. Maybe she was taking this too seriously, and they seemed to be in a place that was relatively unthreatening. It was a bit of a culture shock but other than that, as they roamed down the multi colored streets, breathing in the sweet and clean air, it wasn't so bad.

As they passed by several stores, Sara couldn't help but notice a jewelry shop to her immediate right on the corner, while Christina was examining a store that sold an electric arrangement of home décor items.

"Is that a clock or a telly, or maybe even a book?" Christina was staring at an object that seemed to be changing its surface appearance directly in front of her, in the store across the street, and was intrigued.

"Maybe it's all three," Sara remarked off hand. "I'm going to step in here for a minute, want me to meet you in there?"

"Sounds brilliant," Christina remarked as she headed to take a closer look at the object.

As Sara stepped inside the jewelry store, she was overcome by the sheer amount of choices. Apparently there were items for every part of her body she could think of and for those she hadn't dared considered. She did see beneath a very translucent case, which had the same faint glimmer of rainbows she had noticed throughout the city, a collection of cameos, some similar to the one she was wearing, while some cast in other materials she couldn't readily identify.

"May I help you?" She looked up and tried to contain her surprise at the man's features which was becoming more difficult at every passing moment as the entirety of his face was tinted black with his eyes a disturbing shade of yellow. She glanced down briefly and fumbled with her own necklace, taking a deep breath.

"My necklace, well, the clasp is melded shut, and I can't open it. I was hoping you could?"

"Very archaic design, one hundred credits. No guarantees, since it's not my work." He held out his hand, and she quickly unclasped her necklace and handed it to him, but his arm was still outstretched. _Oh, payment, right. _She held out her wrist feeling distasteful as he picked up a device that emitted a bright glow and ran it over where the chip was inserted. _I'll find a way to get rid of this thing when we leave, I swear it. _It was too reminiscent of biblical prophecy warnings, and no matter if it was a silly comparison, it was enough to make her shudder.

Satisfied, he took the necklace over to what appeared to be a tool tray and began to proceed. Several minutes went by as he lingered, bringing in one gadget or another as Sara watched anxiously. She hoped this would work because after the debacle in Paris, she certainly didn't want to ask the Doctor again. _No, I won't ask him again. He just chipped me like a pet. _Whatever freedom she had was only an illusion, and it was maddening as soon as she thought she saw the good part of the Doctor she had known from TV, he once again reasserted a sense of betrayal. _It's like there are two different people living in the same body. _Her thoughts couldn't help but swing to the Mars episode where he declared himself Time Lord Victorious, and she shivered. That was him at his worst and these were the preceding days, but she and Christina were both here and she was adamant about not going to Mars. Those events were likely to never take place, so that could all be prevented. _It has to be._

"Sorry, miss, I can't open it without breaking the exterior. Did you want me to go ahead and-?"

"No!" She protested, and he was startled at the unexpected outburst. She attempted to calm herself. "I'm sorry, I mean, no, thank you, family heirloom," she sighed, taking the necklace back. "I-I'll just find another way."

"If you like cameo lockets, we have a wonderful selection for the avid collector. You said there were pictures involved?"

Sara glanced up at him. "Well, yes, but I don't have copies so-"

He tapped his head. "The copies are in your mind, I could do some beautiful work for you in trade, say give you this." He opened the case pulling out a simply exquisite cameo set in blue agate, which he easily popped open at the press of a button.

"It's lovely," Sara admitted.

"Isn't it?" He replied staring directly at her face. "Cameos have been carved for thousands of years, using the most intriguing faces which have been called 'beauty of the day.' I haven't seen a face like yours in quite some time, and if you're willing to pose for me to make a copy, I'll give you the cameo and the memory extract for the image inside in trade."

"Memory extract?" She was a bit uncomfortable with the thought of someone crawling around in her thoughts.

"Completely one sided between you and this device. You focus on the image you want to have stored and it makes a copy. It's not invasive at all, I assure you." He saw her look of suspicion. "I'll demonstrate it first, and then you can make your decision, how about that?"

She finally nodded. If nothing else, the locket alone would be a lovely keepsake, even if she refused to use that machine.

"Do you mind if I just make my copy of you first? Shouldn't take but a moment."

Sara couldn't help but be somewhat flattered by the proposal that her image was worth something so ornate as the cameo he would give her, but then, it _was_ ten thousand years in the future and the human race had changed radically and altered themselves in terms of appearance, not entirely for the better, so perhaps for this man, seeing someone like her was a novelty.

She nodded and offered a brief smile._ What harm could it do?_ "Of course, go ahead." He pointed an apparatus at her. A huge kaleidoscope of rainbow colors burst through all aspects of her vision, and then, she saw nothing at all.

Christina checked her watch as she emerged from the store, looking worriedly in the direction of the jewelry shop for which Sara disappeared into. It had nearly been an hour, and she had first hand knowledge of the Doctor's temper, so she could fathom no amount of sweet talk could temper him, if he was caught under another insane pretext that Sara would somehow try to disappear in a city thousands of years in the future.

After having talked with Sara, Christina could determine fairly rapidly that she was usually a highly rational person, and despite her craving for independence, she had been forced to cope with a changing set of circumstances, refusing the offer to run when presented, knowing the insanity of trying to outpace a time traveler. When they met, Christina recognized a kinship. They were both very much alone, her father had plundered the family fortune in an Icelandic banking deal and the repercussions left her stranded. Her own family had abandoned her, and so Christina often deserted or was left by her partners in crime throughout the years. There had been no loyalty or real friendship, but just the mutual yearning for adventure or greed. She hadn't known Sara long, but she already displayed to her great loyalty, which was refreshing, and even though Christina was careful to keep her comments in check, she found Sara's situation wretched.

But she more or less understood the Doctor, and she was certain she could mollify him if she could just find where Sara drifted off too. Glancing through the window of the jewelry store, Sara appeared to be conspicuously absent although there was something off about the jeweler himself. Not in his appearance since that so far was a given of the residents of the city but he was dangling an item across his face with a smile of self satisfaction and then Christina realized the familiarity. _It's Sara's cameo, she had that on when we left. _It seemed incredibly unlikely she would part with it now, as Sara often subconsciously played with the necklace and feeling her throat to make sure the item was still there. _So, why does he have it, and where is Sara?_

She felt a vague tingling sensation through her wrist almost like static electricity, and she shook her hand out flexing her fingers. If that creep inside had answers, she would get them herself, and she headed towards the door to the store that Sara previously entered in. Suddenly a zap of electrical discharge went directly through her arm. "Ouch!" She yelped. Others turned to look at her as she grabbed her arm.

"Okay, fine, I get the message," she muttered to herself glancing at her watch. "I'm late, but once we are out of here, this thing is going to go."

With that, Christina glared at the offending appendage and gritted her teeth. She could not interrogate the jeweler in this fashion. She would have to meet the Doctor first and convince him to come to her aid, but before she turned away she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a painting with a person inside that looked still but yet in motion at the same time as the light refracted off the frame. She could feel her throat clench in dread as the surface of that painting seemed to rotate and reflect terror with a familiar set of hazel eyes. "Sara?" She whispered.

The corridors of the TARDIS now had a dank, perpetual rot as Sara struggled to find her room through the infinite passageways. Mold was growing on the walls and even beneath her feet; she stepped out of it in disgust. _Why is it here? Doesn't the Doctor like everything clean? _

The lights were dimming in the hallway, and even though Sara was never one to be scared of the dark, she was now terrified because she felt a presence lurking there, waiting for her. The filth all around her was encroaching as she considered backing away, and to her horror, the mold transformed into a growing fungus that started to brush against her bare skin, and she shrieked moving forward, away from the growth but further into the darkness until she ran into something, no, _someone_.

Hands seized her arms and she looked up. "Doctor?" It wasn't his tenth form but his eleventh that she had associated with Matt Smith. _What is he doing here? When did he regenerate? _But looking at this version of the Doctor, she knew it was all wrong, distorted, twisted.

"My little Sara," his voice was withering. "Come so far, haven't we?"

She tried to pull away but his grip was painfully tight, digging into her flesh. "What happened to you? What happened to the TARDIS?" She winced at his hold. "Doctor, you're hurting me."

"The Doctor's checked out now. What do you humans say? An apple a day keeps the Doctor away? I happen to love apples." He whipped one out of his pocket. "Care to share?"

She shook her head in refusal, looking at him horrified. "Who are you?"

He tapped his head. "But you already know the answer, and you know who I have to thank for my being here?"

"I don't-" Sara felt something at her feet again and she yelped to see the fungus, dirt, and mildew coalesce all around her.

"Why, _you_, silly. The very spark that set me in motion with nothing to hold me back."

She struggled to propel herself away but she was unable to move, the fungus was writhing around her feet. "Look, I have no idea what you're talking about-!"

"Denial is such an insipid human condition. It's any wonder why I keep you on board." He seemed to ponder her for a moment. "Oh, that's right, my weapon. You can't ever leave."

"Weapon?" She repeated, hardly expecting these words to emerge from him.

"Remember the Time Lord Victorious?"

"You're the Ti-wait, no. That hasn't happened yet, I would remember."

"You humans have such a small perception of time. It's been happening all along, or haven't you been paying attention? Does everything need to be spelled out for you in order for you to understand?" A feeling of dread washed over her as she looked at him with renewed horror. If the Doctor hadn't been pulled back from the brink after becoming the Time Lord Victorious, he would very well turn into-

"Starting to understand the rules of the game aren't we?" He asked snidely.

"The Valeyard," she whispered turning her head away, no longer wishing to see this distorted façade. Somehow, she ended up in a form of hell with her demon being the amalgamation of all the Doctor's darkest aspects, nothing else of him remained.

"Poor Sara, but don't worry, I won't let you suffer." He grasped her chin turning her head around, and she froze as his other hand rested on her temple. "You see, I know your deepest fears, but I can assure you that you really won't remember a thing." She started to struggle against him ferociously as he pinned her against the wall. "Not even your own name," he whispered. She screamed as his hands seized her head.

The Doctor pulled the wire like tentacles off of Sara's scalp and she started to scream, clutching her head in agony. "No, not my name, please, you can't take it!" He took her shoulders, trying to hold her still in the chair he found her in, to examine her.

"What happened?" Christina stepped through the shattered glass of the painting that the Doctor smashed through. The jeweler was rendered unconscious on the floor with a swift punch that she gave that she felt he more then suitably deserved, although, the Doctor merely pretended to disapprove.

"Mind parasite," he explained swiftly as he removed his sonic screwdriver. "But she should be coming around about now, since she's unhooked, unless-" He paused to look at his readings.

Christina put her hand on her new friend's arm. "Sara?" She tried and was rewarded with a blink in response. "Sara, it's me, Christina."

Sara's eyes flew open, looking at Christina frantically. "He was going to take away all my memories."

"Who was?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Listen to me, none of it was real. All a part of the hellscape the mind parasites create that focus on your deepest fear."

"No, he's there, I can see him when I close my eyes." She started to panic. "I have to get out of here." All of Sara's instincts told her to run from this spectral opponent. If she could just sprint fast enough, she might no longer visualize him and he couldn't get inside her head. But wasn't he already in her head? _It doesn't matter, have to go, have to run._

"No, you need to stay right here." The Doctor pulled her back down as she attempted to flee and glanced at his readings. _Well, there's something you don't see every day. _Somatoforms, a peculiar mind parasite that attacks the cerebellum telepathically which explained the unusual art forms he was seeing since the insects honed in on Amygdala, which controlled emotional impulses. "Of course," he muttered aloud as he examined the apparatus in the back of the chair of which he was sitting. "Two parasites, one to attack the Cerebellum and the other the Amygdala, so disconnecting the delivery system leaves the residual in her axons to harvest and then her nerve cells start to atrophy!"

Christina merely looked at him blankly hardly understanding a word, yet her instincts told her when they broke through the glass frame and found her in that hideous machine; the results seemed hideously irreparable so why was the Doctor excited?Is that what he meant by her sanity?

The Doctor was using one arm to keep Sara pinned as he attempted to finish his diagnostic. He cleared his throat. "Black marketers have been using, should say copying, electrical impulses from the brain to convey life-like images in their artwork. Getting unwitting hosts and dosing them with Somatoforms to copy emotional response," he explained.

"So what is happening to her?" Christina demanded.

The Doctor put it as simply as possible. "If left unchecked the parasite would consume key portionsof her brain leaving her a vegetable."

"But you can do something?"

He had to hope her mind was compatible for the task ahead, for he didn't make it a regular occurrence to telepathically link with humans, and it very well could be a hit and miss with hers to boar into her mind that deeply. Judging by the way he was able to impart simple commands with relative ease, there stood a great chance that this procedure would be successful, and given a choice between this and the risks factors of psychosurgery on the TARDIS, he knew where his preference fell.

"Sara, look at me," he intoned, and she reflexively glanced at him, her posture still ready to spring. He sighed, this was going to be difficult to explain in the state she was in now. "You have telepathic parasites eating away inside your mind. I need to go in and remove them." Sara was already shaking her head in refusal, and he gritted his teeth. Nothing could ever be simple with her, could it?

"What do you mean, 'go inside?'" Christina appeared alarmed at the prospect.

He looked over at her. "I need to go inside her mind telepathically. If-_once_, I gain access, I can eliminate the parasites."

"But she doesn't-"

He was impatient. Did she actually think he didn't hear everything that was exchanged inside Sara's bedroom when he was right outside the door? "I'm not going to 'psychically lobotomize' her." _What an ugly choice of words, humans. _Christina scowled in response to his apparent eavesdropping, but he continued, "It's either this or surgery, which I can tell you is far less promising."

Christina swallowed as she watched her friend struggle against him while still shaking her head in adamant refusal. "You give me your word, because if she loses a single memory, I will repay the debt in kind." He honestly believed her as she stared at him forcefully.

"I promise," his voice was solemn, and she nodded, turning back to Sara.

"What can I do?" She asked him, already feeling the enormity of her betrayal. _My first friend. _She reasoned. _She'll forgive me, but I can't just let her die. _She remembered that conversation earlier in that room when Sara said she found it preferable to die. But that was different. He wasn't wiping her memories, but eliminating a dangerous foreign parasite, and after it was done, her mind would otherwise be unalterable. So she hoped.

"Help me keep her still, it won't be easy."

Christina clutched Sara's wrists as Sara looked at her in protest. "No, don't let him do this to me, please! I told you what he did!" Her eyes shimmered. "He'll destroy me, I saw it already on the TARDIS-"

"No, he won't because I would kill him first," Christina replied as a means of assurance, and she glanced up at the Doctor who was holding onto Sara's shoulders. "Will this hurt her?"

"Yes, most likely, since she'll resist. Ready?"

In one last attempt, he tried to reason with her, "Sara, if you just relax, open up your mind, this will be far less painful, I swear."

His words went unheeded and in desperation, Sara made a last attempt at escape, throwing herself against both of them, only to be rocked back in the chair as Christina kept her wrists pinned to her side and, to her horror, she felt the Doctor's hands on her temple.

She shriekedupon feeling his presence boar into her mind, and as he began to probe deeper, the agonizing pain of the violation began to radiate throughout her entire skull, swelling to a point that she mentally cried out a name in desperation to the intruding force within her head.

The Doctor was so overcome with shock that his venture nearly ceased upon hearing his own name being screamed out as a plea inside her head. _How does she know my real name?_

**A/N I'm sorry to cut you off right here but the chapter was getting lengthy and I wanted to dedicate time for the remainder and further exploration. But still, I hope it's a bit entertaining. More things will be wrapped up in the next chapter. Only just began this telepathy process but the inspiration came relatively quickly and I managed to get so much written down. Thank you to LovelyAmberLight and Fan Fictional Authoress for being my beta. Also thanks to my reviewers for helping me point out some quirks here and there that I need to attend to. They always help. **

**In credit to writers I admire, the quote "You save yourself or you remain unsaved" comes from Alice Sebold, a survivor of rape but a good message pertaining to woman who are survivors of any trauma and might feel imprisoned by circumstance. Similar words have been said to be in a roundabout fashion. It is very good advice. Also, if you try to look up Somatoform in Dr. Who literature, it doesn't exist. I based it somewhat on mind and brain parasites that are mentioned in the literature and incorporated it by my own imagination into some of the macabre art that is used in this period of the New Roman Empire. Somatoform is a psychological condition actually, which impairs the mind into believing and reacting to painful stimuli. **


	14. Violation

When the Doctor realized what he would have to do to save Sara's life, he couldn't help but cringe. The last time he'd touched someone like that, he had destroyed her, Donna, his best friend. He knew Sara's life was in his hands, but he also knew, after overhearing the discussion she and Christina had on the Tardis, she would rather die than let him touch her. He couldn't let her do that, he wouldn't.

It's like taking a child to get vaccinated, he reasoned with himself. It has to be done, and there was no way she could understand this. He was older, wiser, and smarter, he knew what was best; he would always know what was best.

"Will it hurt her?"

Christina's words cut him to his core. The Doctor didn't even know if this would work. It was rare that a time lord could connect with a human beyond surface telepathy and basic commands. This penetration would be deep... intimate... if she even survived.

For a moment the Doctor's mind shifted back to the surprise he'd felt when Reinette's mind had touched his. It had been so long since he'd been touched, so long since he'd felt what every time lord needed to feel. She'd welcomed him into herself, and he'd instantly feared and loved her for it. But that's not what this would be like with Sara. She didn't want him with her. She detested the very idea of what he was about to do to her. She would resist him, fight him. He would have to force his mind into hers. And that would make it hurt.

"Yes," he answered Christina. "Most likely since she'll resist." The Doctor steadied himself, shutting off his emotions a little more. He didn't want to think about the violation he was about to commit, entering someone's mind without consent. "Ready?" he asked his new companion.

_She's so innocent_, he thought. Christina had no idea what he was having her participate in. He made one last attempt. "Sara, if you just relax, open up your mind, this will be far less painful, I swear."

When Sara ignored his words, lunging forward in a desperate attempt at escape, the Doctor knew he had to do this now before he lost his nerve. He placed his fingers on her temples as gently as he could, and began pressing himself into her mind. He could feel Sara resist him, but her simple human defenses were no match for those of a Time Lord, especially a Time Lord as old as he was. As he penetrated her outskirts, she shrieked, and as he moved deeper into her psyche, she screamed in pain.

The Doctor could feel the presence of the parasites feeding off Sara's emotions, they were enjoying this. Anger surged through the time lord, he would utterly destroy those invaders for what they'd done, and for what they were forcing him to do. With centuries of anger and rage he'd hidden within himself, the Doctor moved deeper with the intent to destroy Sara's enemies.

It was difficult to move through Sara's mind. She was all around him, comforting, soft, close, and at the same time resisting him. And he didn't want to hurt her, but when he felt the enjoyment of her attackers, he could no longer hold back. He surged forward with one purpose, to kill.

A sound like no other cried out through the soft metaphorical tissue pressing tightly around the Doctor's mind as he moved through Sara's innermost thoughts, hitting him with enough force to nearly throw him from her mind. It was his name, he'd heard his name, but how?

_How does she know my name_?! The emotions hitting the Doctor caused him to pull back completely. He stumbled back away from Sara, never taking his eyes off her.

"Is she alright?" Christina asked. "Is it done?" She was still holding Sara's wrists in place, kneeling off to the side of the chair Sara sat in. The Doctor didn't answer. He just stared at Sara, completely gob-smacked. "Doctor!" Christina broke him from his shock. He looked at her. "Is she alright?"

"No," he answered, bottom lip quivered into a frown. If Sara knew his name, she could keep him out, he couldn't save her. There was a reason why his name was hidden, it was powerful, dangerous. He wouldn't share it with just anyone, he couldn't, but somehow she knew it. He had to have told it to her, she was human, that's the only way she could know his name. He'd have to of given it to her, but why would he do that? Why would he...? She had to be important to him. She'd have to be someone he trusted, not just trusted, she'd have to be someone he...

The Doctor's emotional barriers came crashing down around him. Thoughts of all the companions he'd lost ran through his mind. Memories of his family, his wife, his children, and their children, his friends, his world, his people, thoughts of a River Song he didn't yet know, and thoughts of a Rose he'd never know again threatened to crush him. _Oh, Rose!_ The high and mighty Time Lord dropped to his knees in front of Sara. His face crumbled into a look of complete and utter anguish as he gazed pleadingly up at her.

"Please," he begged, mouth quivering into the most empty, lost, and desperate frown. "Sara, please." The Doctor dragged in a staggered breath. "I... I can't lose anyone else, I can't, I just can't." He took Sara's hands from Christina, and held them in tight desperation. Sara stopped trying to pull her hands away, but her body stayed rigid with fear. She looked down at the Doctor, a tear began to trickle down his cheek. "Please don't shut me out," he begged her. "Let me save you, please, let me save your life."

Christina watched the scene in complete amazement. Never before had she seen anyone care so much for another. Never before had she seen that kind of emotion. "I swear," the Doctor went on. "I swear I won't hurt you. I... I only want to help."

Sara watched the tears escaping the Doctor's eyes. Only a moment ago the look in his eyes was like the Valeyard she was seeing in her mind. But now... Now, he looked like he did on the show. He looked like he did when he'd been visiting with Wilf, Donna's grandfather, at that cafe on the episode when the Master brought the Time Lords back. He looked beaten, crushed, and on the brink. The look on his face along with his desperate words softened her resolve.

She nodded a shuddered answer. "Help me," she whispered. Her whole body trembled. The Doctor's frame melted.

"Thank you," his voice calmed. "Oh, Sara. Thank you." The Doctor slowly released her hands. He paused for a moment to see if she would bolt. When she made no attempt to get away, he slowly moved his fingers towards her temples. She instinctively moved her head away from his hands, he froze.

"It's okay, Sara," he tried to calm her. "I'll be really gentle, promise." His voice was still full of emotion. If Sara changed her mind... He didn't want to think of it. Sara brought her head back to the Doctor's hands. When his fingers touched the sides of her head, he couldn't help but notice how she trembled under them. She was so afraid of him.

This time, when he began pressing himself into her mind, there was only hesitation, not resistance. The Doctor paused, waiting for permission to move further in. Instead of forcing through her defenses, he began caressing her thoughts swirling on the outskirts of her consciousness. He sent comforting emotions towards her. The Doctor felt Sara relax, and very slowly he began to move deeper.

This time it wasn't difficult to move through her cognitive processes. She was still soft and comforting, closely wrapped around him, but she wasn't fighting him. Whenever the Doctor felt her hesitate, he would pause his movement, and wait. After a moment, Sara would relax and would let him work his way deeper towards the parasites.

By the time the Doctor finally made it to the enemy, he was so deeply imbedded in Sara's mind, it was difficult to tell where his thoughts began and Sara's ended. They were one. The Doctor knew this might have lasting side effects, but it was too late to worry about that now, besides, it's not like there really was another choice.

The Doctor was startled by the image of a man jumping towards him. _Matt Smith._ The name echoed from Sara's psyche. The Doctor recognized it for what it truly was though, he'd found the parasite. In one swift movement, the Doctor reached out with his metaphorical hand, gripped Matt Smith by the neck, and began to squeeze. The image of the man disappeared, being replaced by a slug-like creature writhing in agony.

"Mercy!" It cried out.

"Not-this-time," answered the Doctor. His hand crushed the slug, and he felt Sara's mind pass into unconsciousness around him. She was all right, he knew. The infestation had been eradicated, all she needed now was rest.

The Doctor took in a deep breath. For a long minute, he couldn't help but revel in the sensation of being surrounded by another's mind. It was something he'd not felt since before Gallifrey was lost, even Reinette hadn't given him this. He was deep, he knew he was buried deep inside Sara. The Doctor marveled at how it could be possible for him to be able to connect with her mind so completely. He marveled at how comforting it felt to be surrounded by her. After another moment of enjoying the sensation, he began to slowly withdraw himself. He knew he didn't have permission to stay, he wasn't here for enjoyment, and he wouldn't take advantage.

Visions and snippets of memories flashed by the Doctor as he carefully withdrew from Sara. He saw flashes of the people she loved, and the world she lost. He saw her as a child, and smiled when she stumbled taking her first steps. Snapshots of her life moved passed him, and he gained a new appreciation for the girl who knew his name. He felt the walls he'd been building to protect his broken hearts soften. He felt himself start to love her, the girl who could touch his mind, the girl who could help him live again.

He was almost to her outskirts now.

_How could you know my name?_ He wondered when in his future he would give it to her. And why would he give it to her in her past? Did he deliberately create a paradox to give her his name, or was this a circular paradox? She knew his name, so he had to go back in her timeline to give it to her? As if in answer to his rhetorical question, a memory appeared in front of him. The Doctor watched as Sara, the adult Sara he knew now, stood in his library. She was focused on a book, a Gallifreyan book on a pedestal.

_No,_ thought the Doctor. He watched in horror as Sara opened the book, and searched out his name. The Doctor's hearts fell. _NO! Nonononono!_ He hadn't given her his name. He hadn't given her his name because he trusted her. He hadn't given her his name because she was special to him. He hadn't given her his name because he...

The Doctor swallowed back the betrayal, she'd stolen his name. He had saved her life, he had healed her, he had opened his home to her, he had protected her even from herself when she was mentally unstable, and in return, she had stolen something so private, so special, so sacred to him. She had violated him.

The Doctor pulled himself out of Sara's outskirts, and stepped back staring at the unconscious human in front of him, he didn't even notice Christina's questions. The Doctor grimaced into a frown as he felt the walls around his hearts slam back up into place with an impenetrable mortar. The fortress around his hearts was taller, stronger, thicker than it had ever been before, thicker than two centuries of mourning the loss of Rose had made it. He stopped feeling, stopped thinking, couldn't even look at her. He gritted his teeth, clenched his jaw, turned, and left the shop.

Christina watched the scene in dismay as the Doctor simply swept past her, leaving her queries unanswered, his face rigid and closed. The similar icy veil she had noticed in his eyes upon seeing him in that alley when he had furiously accused Sara of running away had returned in three-fold. Something had happened in this entire exchange, he had been considerate, dare she say it, even loving, and then she saw it. What did her intuition tell her? _Betrayal. _The Doctor thought Sara betrayed him somehow. An absurd proposition, but how could she defend her when the Doctor stormed off in such a violent temper and Sara was completely unconscious? No, it would have to wait.

Quickly, she stepped through the painting and took Sara's cameo off the counter. She noticed that the jeweler was starting to come to. Without a second thought, she leaned down and punched him twice for good measure. It would be so tempting to give him the parasites he had given Sara, expose him to the same hell Sara had been forced to endure, but she swallowed her bitterness and before stepping over his unconsciousness form, kicking him twice solidly in the kneecaps. It was the very least he deserved. That, and the authorities they also summoned would take care of his part in this conspiracy.

Heading back over to Sara, she carefully put the cameo back around her friend's neck and then tried to prod her to wakefulness hoping she might provide answers. "Sara?" She gently shook her shoulder. "Can you hear me?"

"She'll be asleep for another several hours," the Doctor's voice echoed flatly behind her.

"Doctor?" She started tentatively. "Are you…?"

"The parasites are gone, we should return to the TARDIS." The same abrupt tone as he wasted no time heading over to Sara, picking her up from the chair, and beckoning for Christina to follow him.

The walk back to the TARDIS was a silent one and Christina had little to say to the  
Time Lord for she felt his bitterness roll off him in waves. When they entered the machine, he glanced at his newest companion, attempting to take the edge out of his tone. "You should get some sleep too."

Christina shook her head. "I don't have a-"

"Up the stairs, down the hall, and to your left," he interrupted as he proceeded down the corridor with Sara.

"What about her?"

"I need to keep her in the sickbay for observation."

Christina nodded reluctantly and turned in the direction he indicated. He did save her life after all, and maybe after they had slept, such answers could be determined tomorrow. _Was there even a tomorrow when you're traveling through time? _She wasn't sure, but she did know that after the events of the last day and the night, she was thoroughly exhausted.

The Doctor immediately returned Sara to the sleep room, this time carefully adjusting the neural dampener to the setting number eight to inhibit any remnant of nightmares she would experience as a result of the mind parasites. For the next three weeks, such measures would have to be instilled since side effects of that nature was common, but her betrayal rankled him so deeply that it was nearly tempting to allow her to be haunted by the remnants of her innermost fears. No, he was still the Doctor, he made a promise to never be cruel or cowardly. She was only human, prone to greed, a weakness of her species. _How was she able to read that book in the first place? _The TARDIS translated all languages, except for Gallifreyan, and that book was written entirely in that ancient language.

The girl was more a puzzle to him then ever before and he had been so careful. All of her fears were plainly evident in her mind but these baby steps were getting them nowhere quickly. She was here for the long term, and when she had properly rested, he would force her to confront the root of her phobias, and then, there be an actual accord between the two. He exited the room, letting the door close behind him setting his watch for twelve hours as he started his maintenance repairs on the TARDIS.

Sara rose to consciousness slowly feeling a distinct burning sensation at her wrist. Instinctually, she moved to raise her arm and shake the unknown sensation away only to have it restrained. _What? _She opened her eyes slowly realizing she was back in the TARDIS, recognizing the sterile features once more of the sleep room, the very first place she had awakened after she was pulled off that bridge that miserable day.

She glanced down at the Doctor who had just finished removing a small computer chip from her wrist with his sonic screwdriver as flickers of memory started to return. Matt Smith, his image was still prominently in her mind. No, that wasn't quite right. It was all twisted, his eyes were completely wrong, menacing. He was the Valeyard, but the dark gaze in his eyes, the icy stare, he and the tenth Doctor had that same intensity. There was a warning and now, what about now? The Doctor was looking at her silently while running a diagnostic, his gaze was cold and remote, much like one from her nightmares.

"What happened?" She asked, sitting up slowly.

"Don't you remember?" He replied, his diagnostic completed as he folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the wall.

_Is this a test? _"Nightmares. You-no, someone was wanting to erase my mind. I couldn't move, and then I saw you and then him." She shook her head briefly. "And everything was in my head, and there wasn't any room for me anymore, and then I-" She frowned. Something had happened, the agony had suddenly stopped, and then, there was a strange feeling of unity unlike anything she had encountered before. She recalled a bond that seemed internally forged of warmth and trust, before she lost all cohesive thought as it dissipated into nothingness.

"You what?" His demand appeared like an interrogation, and she swallowed. Whatever details she was missing, she must have inadvertently let slide part of her deal, which could be the only explanation for why he was so cold to her at the moment.

"I don't remember." She was being entirely honest, her memories were fragmented. She remembered the jeweler and pieces of the nightmare, and a flurry of faces, being pinned down in a chair or gripped in place by the Valeyard, but it was all frustratingly very unclear. "I just don't."

His posture relaxed slightly as he examined Sara closely, but couldn't detect any deceit from her. It wasn't uncommon that a victim of such a brutal mind attack would not retain all the conscious detail from her encounter, and the fact that her use of his name was a subconscious reflex might work in his favor. She was merely a child with a weapon that she didn't know how to use, and now he knew there minds were compatible, an opportunity could then present itself to take that burden from her. Yes, his name was a burden that no human should carry, certainly not one that violated his privacy to that degree. It would then be a simple matter to hide all texts pertaining to his name from her while still giving him a new avenue to study, since she had the ability to read his language.

"You were infested by telepathic parasites," his voice became clinical as she looked at him in horror.

"The jeweler." She recounted remembering the kaleidoscope of rainbow colors that burst before her eyes. "Are they gone?" He was nodding as she thought rapidly. "Wait, telepathic, how did you get rid of…?" And then she remembered, his hands on her forehead and Christina pinning her wrists down. Her throat went dry as she stumbled off the table, backing away from him.

"I had no choice."

That was rich coming from him who had stripped every single shred of independence she had, and then violated her mind at a time when she was the most vulnerable.

"You took advantage of…."

"You eventually gave me consent."

Sara went back through her mind, remembering a brief snippet. A moment of the Doctor on his knees, pleading before her, begging her to let him help her. His eyes were so different then, and for a moment, she could see a distinct difference between the Valeyard lurking in her thoughts and the Doctor, the hero she had seen in the show.

But now? His eyes were veiled again and any fragment of trust she might have garnered from their encounter seemed to disperse as she headed to the door. She had no idea what to say, since they had a deal in place. Oh, she had plenty she wanted to tell him, just to wipe that stony veneer from his face. She wanted to bolt and find the farthest reaches away from this man the TARDIS would allow, but any of those actions would foolishly compromise her situation. So instead, she slowly made her way out of the infirmary, thinking hard.

She nearly ran straight into Christina as she headed back to her room. "Sara, are you all right?" The other girl was speaking so quickly. "Please forgive me, I didn't know what to do, and he said-"

Sara shook her head. "It's not your fault." Regardless of the circumstance, she was not going to put blame on Christina's shoulders for something she didn't entirely understand. Christina didn't know the Doctor that well, and Sara hadn't been very descriptive of the procedure.

"But you would have preferred it, if he just let you-." Christina couldn't finish the sentence. "No, I was there, and when he tried to-" She paused unable to finish. "He begged you, never seen anything like it before, and then you asked for his help."

_Asked for his help?_

It seemed incredible, but Christina had no reason to lie to her, and she had been present during the entire experience, whereas Sara was still trying to put together random pieces. Those distinct moments of warmth, unity and trust before she sank into unconsciousness might explain a consensual encounter with his mind, but she wanted to know more. "Tell me what happened."

Christina started to open her mouth but was interrupted.

"Both of you ready to go? We set down on Sol IV, and I need to collect some trisilicate samples to maintain the Psycho Telemetric Circuits. After our last jump, the bio circuitry of the genetic sampler interfered with the Helmic Orienters, so synthesizing trisilicate will work well with the xion crystals, given that the space-time coordinates are relative to the Galatic Zero Center." The Doctor stood behind them already geared in a space suit.

"So, what you're saying is you need to go outside and collect rock samples?" Christina clarified as Sara turned to him, startled.

"Putting it simply I would suppose." The Doctor scowled at having his explanation put so bluntly. "Still, Sol IV, fascinating place, was home to the Gardorans and the Osirians. We might be able to find a few artifacts left over."

"What happened to them?" Sara asked.

"Atmosphere and climate changes, the planet only has a third of the oxygen it used to. The Osirians and Gardorans are ancient races that didn't survive."

Sara had to figure it was similar to what occurred in Pompeii and Nazi Germany being both fixed points in time, in which he simply couldn't interfere. She remembered how sorely Donna wanted to interfere with inevitable result of volcano erupting in Pompeii, but somehow these fixed points kept the strands of reality together and functioning.

"And you need us for this?" She was relatively disconcerted at the thought of using a spacesuit, and archaeology had never been an avid pursuit for her.

"Yes, it-"

"Oh, it will be fun." Christina looked excited. "Besides, I always wanted to see another planet, and it has to beat the last one! No one else is on it." Sara looked at Christina and nodded reluctantly. She did have a point, and this exploration seemed rather straightforward. A deserted planet did have its advantages over Cybermen and mind parasites attempting to wreak havoc. The name didn't ring a bell at all, so it was likely one of his off screen adventures or journey so unimportant it didn't make its way into the script.

They headed to the wardrobe room to put on the similar orange spacesuits, carefully locking the oxygen mask into place, before heading into the console room. The Doctor opened the door first before heading out, followed by Christina and as Sara took her first step onto the rocky surface, her hand still partially clutching the TARDIS doorframe, she felt as though her heart got slammed into her throat.

"Why did you say this was Sol IV?" Christina looked around the red planet in confusion. "This is Mars, seen it in pictures plenty of times and-"

"You lied to me," Sara cut her off looking at the Doctor accusingly.

"Nope," he said, popping the 'p', while staring at her directly. "Sol IV was the original name given to Mars by the Gardorans and the Ice Warriors eons ago."

"A lie by omission is still a lie!" She backed away into the TARDIS. "You planned this!"

Knowing that the TARDIS extended an oxygen bubble several feet around them, she yanked the helmet off and threw it back into the console room folding her arms across her chest in preparation to stand her ground. Nothing would make her go through this horrendous place, she swore that before and she stood by that, especially now.

She could tell he was angry while Christina merely looked perplexed. "We had a deal, didn't we Sara?"

Sara looked at Christina and then back to the Doctor. "And I'll keep it, but I told you before that I'm not stepping foot on this place."

"Because you 'didn't like the color?'" It was a deliberate mimic.

"What's going on?" Christina asked. "What's wrong with Mars?"

"Nothing is _wrong_ with Mars," the Doctor said. "She has an unfounded phobia that needs to be confronted."

"It is _not_ a phobia!" Sara protested. _Where did he get that idea?_

"It's time to grow up Sara." His eyes were cold and unforgiving.

She simply lost it. "Grow up, you're telling me to grow up? You freaking kidnapped me and threatened to lock me up in there for the rest of my life." She was shaking her head. "Oh, you call that moral responsibility but you know what all of us humans are to you? Pets, yeah, Christina, the soul of his TARDIS calls us 'strays.'" Christina looked stunned as the Doctor's face darkened and moved forward.

"Wait here," he ordered Christina and proceeded inside the TARDIS as Sara continued to back away from him.

"You don't know do you? You and your 'fixed points in time' that you say you can never break, you freaking hypocrite, why do you think I didn't want to come here? The color really, _Doctor_? Did you honestly buy any of that because-" He seized her shoulders, pulling her forward, cutting her off. She rallied against him, looking him straight on in the eye. "What are you going to do, drag me outside? Then I'll die, and I know I was better off because-"

She was horrified as she suddenly felt his hands once again on her temple and she tried to cry out the word 'no' in protest but his command _sleep _resounded in her mind, and she felt herself collapsing.

The Doctor caught her with one arm while still keeping one hand pressed to her head, now seeing he had the upper hand. She was unconscious and lacked the ability in this state to use his name to propel him out of her mind. It was one little sliver of memory that she shouldn't have in the first place, and it wouldn't negate his study on her ability to read his language. He would ultimately be doing her a favor by removing her name from her memories.

Placing her gently in the jump seat, he pressed both hands back to her temple prepared to do this small memory removal. As he prepared to penetrate the outskirts of her mind once more, his concentration was broken as he distinctly heard the TARDIS groan around him. He was perplexed as he stared at the navigational control, probing his telepathic bond with the TARDIS soul. She was adamantly opposed to what he was about to do to Sara, and he couldn't determine why. He stared at the unconscious girl in front of him, the sleep command he gave her was specific to only last ten minutes, so once he got her helmet back on, she wouldn't suffocate by prompting her to consciousness again.

He retrieved her oxygen mask, putting it back into place and lifted her up, carrying her out of the TARDIS where Christina waited in a state of dismay. "What happened, why was she screaming like that, Doctor?" She hurried to keep up with the Doctor's rigid pace as he made his way further from the TARDIS. _What will I do with her? _He thought warily. _She still knows my name. _It seethed in him still the intrusion into something so infinitely private, yet his own TARDIS was acting in her defense. _Why? _He would sorely love to know.

"It's her phobia," he explained to Christina. "They are never rational, and the best way for her to overcome her fear is to directly expose her to it."

"But she's unconscious!"

"Temporarily," he said, glancing down at Sara. "Give her another few minutes, it was the only way to get her off the TARDIS."

"But this seems extreme to-"

"She's had an engrained fear of stepping foot on any other planet besides her own, which is rooted with Mars in particular."

"That's oddly specific," Christina observed. "Are we actually here to locate ore for you at all, or do I have to confront my worst fears the next place we visit?" Their walk eventually led them to a crater and Christina was shocked to see what appeared to be a very large and fully functioning base located in its depths.

"Oh, beautiful." The Doctor turned to Christina to see whether she shared his enthusiasm.

"I thought you said Mars was deserted." Christina glanced at the Doctor who shook his head.

"I said the Osirians and Gardorans were gone, didn't say it was deserted."

Christina stared at him. No wonder Sara had problems trusting this man this alien. He was full of enough half-truths and lies, that it was simply astounding. _What happened to the person I saw begging Sara to save her? _She simply didn't know.

"Rotate slowly," An electronic voice sounded behind them. Christina felt something metallic and hard pressing her directly in the back. They turned to find robot approximately half their size with full grasping hands holding two weapons, both pointed directly at them.

Sara gave a distinct moan, and the Doctor noticed she was starting to come to. This was not an apt time for that, especially now, given these new circumstances, she would surely start to panic.

"You are all under arrest for trespassing, Gadget-Gadget," the robot said and with that Sara fully roused and while struggling against him, within her oxygen mask, she started to scream.

**A/N: I have to give special credit to AmberLovelyLight who not only advised but collaborated and wrote part of this chapter so I give her my thanks for her wonderful contribution which I'm certain you'll recognize. I know the Doctor is getting progressively more sinister but remember in terms of time frame and canon where he is. Thank you to Fan Fictional Authoress for being my Beta as always.**


	15. Fixed

Sara's return to consciousness was greeted by a perpetual red sky, which oriented her directly as she realized she had been taken into the abyss of what she considered hell. Mars. The red planet. _How could he have done this to me? _Distantly, in the background, she heard an electronic voice commanding them. "You are all under arrest. Gadget Gadget."

The oxygen mask was back on her face and he had glanced down clearly feeling her stir awake. As their eyes made contact, she started to scream and violently flail against him. This proved a more difficult challenge then she anticipated since the oxygen she received from the helmet wasn't quite what she was used to and her endeavors became quite futile as she had difficulty getting enough air to punctuate another cry.

"There's no where to go Sara." The Doctor said grimly. "We're under arrest. I can either carry you in like a child or you can walk."

Unable to scream any further, she glared openly at him letting him see the full depth of her fury and his betrayal but inclined her head down refusing to have him strip her of any further dignity.

Immediately she went to Christina and the two girls linked hands as they silently made their way down to the base accompanied by the Doctor. _What have I done bringing her here? _Sara contemplated. She once thought that this whole mission on Mars could be avoided since she was aware of the future and that she could prevent the rise of the Time Lord Victorious. What an idiot she was because truth be told, the Time Lord Victorious was already here. He simply hadn't confessed it aloud but now in this horrific planet, if she survived, she might very well see the very worst of the Doctor.

What other decision was there to consider? Tell Adelaide and her whole crew that they were meant to die to protect reality? She would surely be confined for that if the Doctor didn't sedate her first for rambling on about a subject that he considered himself the final authority. But from what she recalled, he found out about the truth relatively quickly. It didn't help matters so Sara found herself at a complete loss. She had been trying to do him a favor by helping him avoid this dismal situation and now he wouldn't connect the dots until it was too late.

They started to emerge down a long tunnel, which became sealed off from the atmosphere inside and when her mask was removed by a girl with a German accent not much older then she was, she found that she had more air in which to speak. If she tried now while there was only couple people in the vicinity, the events could still possibly change.

"Doctor, listen, please." She whispered. His face remained implacable. "Look, forget whatever else I said, it's a fixed point in time, it's-"

"Before you called me a hypocrite. Changing your mind now?"

"I'm hoping you'll prove me wrong." She implored. "Please, November, 2059…just remember, Doctor."

His eye's hardened. "I should listen to you. Humans. I saved you. Gave you a home. Helped you. How did you repay me? You became greedy. Simply wanted more."

"Greedy?"

He shook his head. "Enough."

"Wait." Christina tried to intervene as she was forced out of her space gear. "What is a fixed point in time."

"Doesn't matter." The Doctor replied.

"I think it does." Christina interjected but as he was about to press the point the crew pressed them forward into one of the main chambers where they confronted a stern, older woman holding a laser weapon pointed directly at the Doctor's head.

_Well, better him then us. _Sara thought briefly though Sara knew her at once. _Adelaide._ She couldn't help but be moved by sympathy and admiration for this leader of the colonists.

"State your names, ranks and intentions." She commanded.

The Doctor returned her gaze coolly. "The Doctor." He paused and Sara could detect a near imperceptible sneer. "Doctor. Fun."

"He's joking." Sara attempted to explain.

"And you are?" Adelaide demanded.

"Sara Thomas and this is Christina de Sousa." She saw no point in lying to her.

Another man burst in through the door. "What the hell? They're people! People on Mars!" He joined the crowd gathering around them. "How?"

The German woman that removed their space gear came in dangling the items she retrieved from them. "They were wearing these things. I have never seen anything like it."

"What did mission control say?"

"They're out of range for ten hours due to the solar flares." The German woman explained.

"If we could cut the chat everyone." Adelaide demanded, circumventing the room.

"Actually, chat's second on my list, the first being gun, pointed at our heads. Which then puts my head second and chat third, I think." The Doctor paused for a moment to ponder, ticking off items. "Gun, head, chat, yeah. I hate lists. But you could hurt us all with that, just…. put it down."

"Oh you'd like that." Adelaide shook her head in amazement.

"Can you find me someone some who wouldn't?" He queried.

"Actually, go head." Sara stepped forward, raising her hand. "Put me out of misery. I was against stepping foot on this Godforsaken place to begin with so just shoot me right now and get it over with."

The Doctor took her shoulder, yanking her back and away from Adelaide so she was behind him. He grimaced. _What am I going to do with her? _Here they were surrounded in the midst of a group of particular trigger-happy humans and his volatile companion was begging to get shot, which would only lead to questions.

The woman examined Sara carefully as Christina glanced between the two in panic. "Doctor," Christina said. "I think this was a bad idea."

"That's the first logical thing I've heard from any of you this entire time." Adelaide folded her arms. "And your friends are hardly what I would consider astronauts. What's wrong with her?" She pointed to Sara. "Why should I trust you at all?"

The Doctor looked at her firmly while maintaining a grim on Sara's wrist. "Because I give you my word." He intoned. "And forty million miles away from home, my word is all you've got."

"And your friend?"

"Space sickness. She's been having visual illusions and disorientation." He explained as Sara gave a distinct snort in offense.

The way the man behaved, if he was a doctor as he claimed was infinitely suspicious to Adelaide but all three were unarmed and she had to make a decision.

She lowered her weapon and turned to one of her crew. "Keep Gadget covering them."

"Gadget-Gadget" It was an automated response in the robot's mainframe but the Doctor looked at it with some disregard as he questioned the workings of the robot.

"It's a bit flimsy." The Doctor said with some disgust.

Her crewmember exchanged an extended glare with the Doctor while the robot continued to move around the room saying the same repeated phrase.

As the Doctor tried to ignore it he turned to Adelaide. "Right, yes, Ok, you got me. So, I'm the Doctor, and you are?"

_And here we go. _Sara thought wearily. _Now he'll find out and what? Blame me? Blame his TARDIS? Blame us both? _It had a certain irony that it wasn't just an accident that brought him here this time but he circled in on his belief of her phobia and forced them to come here to confront that perception. In this twisted road of destiny she had struggled to avoid, she had been the one to bring him here all along.

"Oh, come on. We're the first off-world colonists in history. Everyone on Planet Earth knows who we are."

"Adelaide." Sara muttered. The Doctor glanced at her sharply.

"Yes, as I said, everyone knows our names."

The Doctor thought quickly and suddenly felt dread starting to prickle through both his hearts. "Bowie Base One." He said it at the same time as the woman and that was the apparent confirmation for what he needed to know as his mind began to flash on a news page.

"2059. It's 2059 right now." He verified as article after articles flipped through his mind as he stared at the woman and then glanced back at Sara. _She knew. It wasn't just a phobia. It was something altogether worse. But why would she hide it from me before? _"You're Captain Adelaide Brooke!" He exclaimed as his mind flashed on another image. "And Ed! You're Deputy Edward Gold." Turning to the man who was approximately in his mid forties and spoke with an Australian accent. His voice softened as he continued to make his rounds. "Tarak Ital, MD." Another flash in his mind. "Nurse Yuri Kerenski. Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich. Junior Technician Roman Groom." He paused turning to the youngest member of the colonists. "Geologist Mia Bennett." His eyes narrowed in on her. "You're only twenty seven years old." _And she always will be. All of them died in 2059._

"As I said Doctor, everyone knows our names." Adelaide confirmed.

"Oh, they'll never forget them." He said as he recalled footage of the devastating explosion that wiped out the Mar's colony, he turned to Sara. "What's the date today?" He asked her quietly.

She shook her head. "You already know what the date it is." Her voice was bitter. "Wasn't worth your time to listen was it and now it's too late so why should I even bother-"

He grit his teeth and took her by the shoulders. "I don't have time to debate this with you, Sara. Tell me the exact date."

Adelaide interrupted them. "Excuse me, Doctor. It's November 21, 2059."

"Doctor, what is going on?" Christina asked as she looked at him who was examining the Mars colonists and Sara with a calculating intensity that was frightening.

"Right. Ok. Fine." He released her as he appraised the group in front of him. _Sara didn't want me to come to a fixed point in time. Why didn't she just tell me in advance? _His mind was racing with the possibilities. He had two humans with him which he already considered before were prone to weaknesses considering their species. In Pompeii, he had to reiterate several times that Donna couldn't interfere and warn the citizens of the upcoming volcanic eruption but she still attempted to do just that regardless. _Perhaps Sara didn't want to be tempted to meddle with the events at all. _It was likely. Equally so were simple avoidance or cowardice based on the events of what was to occur at Mars that she witnessed in her dimension. It simply didn't make sense. She had been forthcoming with events in Victorian London and in demonstrating the tear in reality at the Gladwell Bridge. _Is there a paradox? _It seemed doubtful since he could usually detect a signature ahead of time.

"Is there something wrong?" the German woman asked who he identified as Steffi.

"What's so important about my age?" Mia looked concerned.

The Doctor was distracted as he glanced around the entire party and then back to his two companions. "We should go. We…really should go." Sara was muttering something under her breath, as Christina looked perplexed. It distinctly sounded as if she was saying; "It's to late for that." He attempted to continue. "I'm sorry with all of my hearts, but it's one of those very rare times when I've got no choice. It's-"

He frowned as he glanced over. Sara was mimicking him word for word and when she saw that his eyes met hers, she immediately ceased and looked away. Christina went to Sara imploring her for answer, which Sara in present company didn't know how to give.

"Maggie." Ed, the Australian deputy was saying over a communication device. "If you want to meet the only new human beings that you're going to see in the next five years, better come take a look."

A loud snarling sound came in response.

The Doctor took Christina and Sara's arms. "We really should go."

Adelaide ignored him quickly giving orders for the feed on the bio-dome and was alarmed when only static appeared. Ed was quick to inform her that all internal camera footage was down inside and they were limited to some external shots of the structure.

"I'm going over. Doctor, with me." She glanced at Christina and Sara. "Your _friends _can wait in sickbay."

He shook his head in refusal. "I'd love to help, but we're leaving, right now."

Adelaide turned to Steffi. "Take their spacesuits and lock them up." She stared at the Doctor. "This started as soon as you arrived, so you're not going anywhere except with me. Yuri can ensure both of their security until we return." Pointing to Christina and Sara as she met the Doctor's stony gaze with equal fierceness and deliberation, she gestured to Yuri who responded promptly prepared to escort the two girls out of the room.

The Time Lord appeared furious to Sara but he was outmatched by several humans and outgunned by a robot. His telepathy had too few guarantees especially considering the number of people he would be required to compel in a single moment. He had no choice but to accompany Adelaide and leave one of his most volatile companions in the hands of a man whose fate was already sealed.

"Fine." Anger riddled through him. He didn't like this one bit. "Just need a moment to have a word with them before I go."

Taking Christina and Sara by the shoulders to the side, he focused on Sara intently. "Whatever your reason for not telling me about them, it doesn't matter." His voice was grim. "We're here. So listen to what I have to say." Sara merely folded her arms across her chest. "You are not to give a single word as to the outcome, do you understand?"

Sara was silent and Christina only looked back and forth between the two perplexed. "Sara," The Doctor intoned. She glanced up reflexively. "Am I making myself clear?"

"It's not for me but for you to understand, _Doctor_." Her voice suddenly became hollow. "Be careful not to get wet."

"What?" He watched her gaze slide all around the room.

"Water is patient. Water just waits. It wears down the cliff tops, the mountains, the whole of the world. Water always wins."

Yes, it was an ugly episode for her to watch but certain quotes stuck out in her mind. The Doctor had used that one to explain to Adelaide the futility of her situation and even if it was out of order, Sara used it to explain to the Doctor the irony of his.

"Enough Doctor." Adelaide commanded. "We need to go."

He imparted leaving Sara with a strange expression on his face before Yuri whom also seemed close to their age guided her and Christina to the sickbay interior. _They are all so young._

"How did you all get here?" Yuri inquired as he started to do a scan. "Both of you are human, no foreign antibodies." He glanced at Sara. "You don't meet the criteria for being space sick."

"It wasn't by choice." Sara explained.

"I believe that much." He verified as she glanced at him in surprise. "Saw the exterior footage of you struggling with him. Want to tell me what's really happening?"

Sara shook her head. These were lines she simply couldn't cross and she wouldn't contribute to the damage of another universe if she were able to help it. "I can't. I shouldn't be here in the first place."

He sighed in frustration and after conceding that the two girls weren't going anywhere continued with his work at the other side of the medical quarters.

Sara slumped down against the wall, her head collapsing into her hands.

"Want to tell me about it?" Christina asked quietly.

"I'm so sorry that you're even on this miserable planet. I tried so hard to prevent it." Sara muttered.

"But why? What's going on? The two of you aren't saying anything. What's a fixed point in time?" The other girl demanded.

Sara looked up at her, gripped with anxiety but Christina was travelling with her. She had taken on the burden of risk by agreeing to come so she had to know even if the consequence was her departure after this venture met it's conclusion. _That's if we all survive. _She swallowed as she struggled to find the right words.

"A fixed point in time is immutable. It's almost like destiny if you were to believe in things like that. They are events that happen that cannot be changed otherwise reality falls apart." Sara spoke softly.

"So you're saying this is a fixed point in time?"

"Today, only a while from now, yes it is because Captain Adelaide will order a self destruct of this entire base to stop something much worse from reaching the Earth that depends on water to survive."

As they were talking, Yuri's radio came to life. "Yuri, I've got Margaret Cain, head trauma. I need a full medpack."

Yuri lifted the radio to acknowledge the call. "I've got it. Medpack on its way." He glanced back at them. "The door locks behind me so don't think of going anywhere."

Sara gave a brief sigh. "Where exactly would we go?" He left swiftly without acknowledging her sarcastic reply.

"But the Doctor knows about this right?" Christina prodded. "I mean, he does now." Then she thought quickly. "But you didn't tell him before we came to Mars. He thought you had a phobia. Why?"

"I've watched this as a television show and I've seen his companions attempt to interfere with fixed points of time out of compassion because they don't want to witness so many people die but when the Doctor…"

"When the Doctor what?"

"He could break his own rules and he'll spiral. It's so much worse. We've all go to get out of-"

Yuri suddenly came through the door returning with his crewmember, Maggie on a stretcher, wheeling her into a separate isolation room segmented away from the infirmary by thick panes of glass as both girls watched.

"Keep your distance." Sara warned, her voice low.

"Why? What's wrong with her?" Christina asked.

"She's infected." Sara closed her eyes. "Sort of like those parasites but it's too late for her. Using her body like a host."

Christina appeared sickened as she stared at Maggie who suddenly opened her eyes.

Yuri sprang forwards with his radio. "She's awake. She's back with us. " He looked into the glass. "Hey, how are you soldier? Just take it easy. Can you remember what happened?"

Maggie seemed to look perplexed. "I was working and then I woke up here."

The conversation continued over the comms system but Sara already knew these creatures were taking over and one by one; their crew was dropping. This realization came swiftly to Yuri as the pretense dropped aside when Maggie saw a view of Earth, her face started to crack and harden and water started to pour out from the seams. Her eyes became nearly opaque, almost like the nightmares she had of her friends where she visualized they were being eaten alive. _Is that what is happening? All the people here are being eaten alive from the inside? _She remembered the Doctor promising to take her places beyond the scope of her imagination. He was never terribly specific since ones illusions could include places of horror just as they could retain images of wonder. _God help us all._

Yuri was in panic calling the situation over the comm chat. "This is sickbay. We have a situation. Maggie's condition has I don't know. I don't know what it is. It's water pouring out."

"Yuri calm down." Adelaide responded assuredly. "Just tell me what's happening to her."

"The skin in-" Yuri paused assessing Maggie. "Sort of broken around the mouth. And she exuding water like she's drowning."

Ed's voice crackled in. "Yuri, keep her contained. Seal the door at maximum. I'm on my way!"

"She's like a zombie." Christina muttered and Sara nodded. "Yeah but she's not driven to bite us to pass it along."

"Then what?"

"Water. Takes just a drop."

"'Careful not to get wet'" Christina repeated. "That's the warning you gave the Doctor."

"What the hell?" Ed came rushing in looking at Maggie in shock. Panic surged all throughout the comms as Steffi begged for Adelaides return but Adelaide demanded confirmation on Maggie's containment from Ed and then ordered that all water supplies be shut down.

"I should have stopped him." Christina looked down regretfully. "I thought I could handle it. Told myself I've seen worse and occasionally I have but I can usually detect a liar. When he saved your life, I was seeing a whole different side to him that-"

"It's not your fault. I'm the reason you're here in the first place." Sara muttered.

"Hey, I don't regret that because if nothing else, it has been adventure, right?"

Sara looked at her speculatively and knew Christina was trying to make the best out of the very worst possible scenario.

The Doctor suddenly burst into the room with Adelaide looking momentarily satisfied to see Christina and Sara within the compartment. Sara stubbornly refused to return his gaze but of course she had known all along. Her comment about the water right before he left with Adelaide sounded like his words to precisely that he suspected she had chosen to use her future knowledge to mimic him again directly to his face with a phrase he hadn't extrapolated yet until Adelaide told him that the bio-dome was hermetically sealed.

Adelaide was consulting with Yuri regarding Maggie about her vitals and brain activity before addressing Maggie directly. _Or rather the thing inside her. _The Doctor thought knowingly.

"Maggie, can you hear me? Do you know who I am? Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. Can you tell me what happened?"

_Useless. _The Doctor thought. _It's not Maggie anymore._

"Hoorghwall in schtochman ahn warrellinsh och fortabellan iin hoorgwahn." He attempted.

"What language is that?" Ed asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "Ancient North Martian." It was worth an attempt. It was becoming clear. They had built the base on this crater because there was an ice field that led to an underground glacier where the Flood, a parasitic, water based life form lurked below likely frozen by the Ice Warriors to contain the viral outbreak until this point in time.

Now Adelaide was getting on the comm system, initiating a command realizing only that the base had succumbed to some kind of infection.

"This is Captain Brooks. I'm declaring Action One. Repeat to all crewmembers, this is Action One with immediate effect. Evacuate the base."

She had turned back to him. "Thank you, Doctor. Your spacesuits will be returned to all of you." She gestured to him, Christina and Sara. "And good luck to you."

The Doctor only nodded in response and Sara was astounded. _He's supposed to tell her. To offer her consolation and he's choosing to say nothing? _She thought, as he took their arms propelling them out to the Central Dome where Adelaide handed them their spacesuits. As Sara hurriedly slipped hers on, she gripped the Doctor's arm. "You have to tell her." She whispered. "At least offer her some consolation. Tell her what she's dying for."

"It would not change the outcome." He muttered for which Sara could only stare. Had things changed so drastically? She struggled to remember the words herself but then realized that an event that defined Adelaide also defined Sara's arrival. "Adelaide, it started fifty years ago with the Daleks when they stole Earth, didn't it?" The woman looked up at her in surprise. "You wanting to come here?"

"I never told anyone that." Adelaide responded in surprise.

"Sara." The Doctor said, a warning in his tone. "You can't-"

"I lost my entire family too." Sara told Adelaide. "Never got a chance to say good-bye. You were told to stay behind, weren't you?"

Adelaide nodded. "My father went out to find my mother. I never saw them again and I went to the window and there, in the sky, I saw it and it saw me. It stared at me. It looked right into me. And then simply went away. I knew, that night, I knew I would follow it."

"But not for revenge." The Doctor replied finally looking at Adelaide and Sara glanced at him in relief.

"What would be the point of that?"

He proceeded to tell her about her granddaughter and how she served as an inspiration for generations to come, down the line to when her distant relative would fall in love with a Tandonian Prince and start a whole new race of species. He supposed this is what his companion wanted to offer this woman. A promise of a legacy. Being the last of his species, he had no assurance of one for himself when the time came to meet his demise but he wondered if it would comfort Adelaide in knowing that her sacrifice would not be made in vain. Truth be told, it was difficult of what reassurances he could offer in this case since he had never meant to be so involved.

The three of them eventually made their way into the airlock to begin their descent outside but Adelaide became increasingly curious as to their identity. She then threatened to ramp up the pressure which would result in their deaths. Christina expelled a gasp. Sara shook her head. "You won't."

The Doctor looked at Sara who was staring at Adelaide's image on the viewer in the Airlock with a sense of confidence. She knew her even admired her but seconds were ticking by and they were having the same debate about why he couldn't intercede and save Adelaide's life. The woman was begging for his help to change the circumstances but once again he was forced to abide by the burdens of the rules set long ago by the council of Time Lords. It was his weight to carry but how did he even arrive here? His governing circuit on his TARDIS should have prevented him from coming to this particular day in history. Sara had only made it worse by forcing him to offer her some vague comfort and reassurances. She wanted the Doctor to know the extent of Adelaide's sacrifice and her compassion as if the weight wasn't already enough to bear on its own.

Adelaide continued her protest for his intervention but her death was a fixed point in time and therefore unalterable. His companions looked grief stricken but otherwise they were now silent as they put their oxygen masks back into place.

"You'll die here too." Adelaide said.

The Doctor shook his head. "No."

"Who is going to save you?"

He glanced up at her. "Captain Adelaide Brooke."

Adelaide's face twisted into a grimace. "Damn you." She released the airlock.

They slowly made their way out of the crater and Sara found herself trying to hold back the emotional tide pool as they plundered through the rocks only barely seeing the way ahead of them through the exhaust fumes given off by the distant shuttle. The colonists were preparing for departure but soon Ed; the pilot would be compromised and wouldn't hesitate to take his own life knowing full well what it meant. _Why are these the choices we all have to make? _She thought, sparing a glance back hating the fact that they were leaving them behind but knowing full well it was what needed to be done.

Their pace continued as Sara's body continued to shake; her breathing was raspy inside her mask. She closed her eyes briefly recounting passages from the psalms her mother used to read to her. Prayers she used to say long ago when her universe was still alive. '_When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose words I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal men do to me?' But he's not just mortal or human is he? That's why I'm so afraid. _Sara swallowed as she glanced at the Doctor. Christina reached out her hand, which Sara took.

_He can't turn back. That's when this all begins and he spirals into madness. Can't let him return. He-_

A huge explosion shook the ground and they were all thrown off their feet, pitched several yards away among various scraps of metal and debris. Sara struggled to right herself seeing torn pieces from the rocket burning around her and she knew she was right. Mars at night with this inferno cascading around them was like being in the epicenter of hell itself. She saw the Doctor who landed only a short distance from her but where was Christina? They had been holding hands moments ago before the blast but she couldn't have gone tossed that far. No. She saw another figure on the ground and scrambled on her hands and knees to get to there.

To get to her because Christina was lying prone on the Martian terrain with a jagged piece of metal piercing her chest. _Oh God no. _Her eyelids were fluttering. _She's still alive. _Sara thought desperately. _Still alive… _"Doctor!" She screamed and gasped inside her mask as she clutched Christina's shoulders. "Doctor, please-!"

"Yes, I'm here." He had her by the shoulders moving her to the side as he removed his sonic screwdriver to run a diagnostic on Christina already noticing where the metal happened to be protruding. The results proved his suspicions, as there was a tearing in her proximal descending aorta, which was causing a traumatic aortic rupture and he shook his head. He would never get her back to the TARDIS in time to get her into surgery. She would be dead within minutes. He turned to Sara who was still clutching onto Christina's hand who was looking at him with keen desperation. "You have to do something!" She demanded. She refused to give up on Christina and leave her at this Godforsaken hellhole. Hadn't it already taken enough life? Wasn't that enough to satiates Death's greed without adding her friend to the cost. _I can't let him take her too. I won't. He won't have her._

"Sara," The Doctor said to her softly, "She's bleeding internally and it's too fast." He paused. "A major artery in her heart was damaged and-"

"Then fix it!" She retaliated. "You're the freaking Doctor. Isn't that what you do? Fix things?"

"Not this time." He stared at Christina and shook his head. "I can't."

"Sara?" Christina managed to whisper.

Tears started to burn down Sara's face as she tightened her hold around Christina's hand. The friend she only knew briefly and who risked everything to help her. To have an adventure. Blood was sluicing everywhere as she tried to prevent the onslaught of the liquid pouring straight out of the vicious wound. Her hands and arms were becoming soaks in the crimson fluid but she needed to maintain pressure even if the Doctor was going to just sit there and watch her-no, she would do this, for her friend. For herself.

"Christina, please," Sara choked. "Please just stay. You can't-"

"It was worth it." Christina said softly. "All my life running never had a friend."

"Then make it back to the TARDIS." Sara pleaded. "Still be my friend." She glanced again at the Doctor begging him silently. _Help me. _But he shook his head, gazing at Christina's face, looking lost and completely remote.

"I'll always be your friend no matter where I'm going." Christina mumbled. "I see it so clearly now." She started to smile. "Never changes there." Her breathing became raspy. "I'll say hello to them for you."

"No, please don't go." She grabbed Christina's shoulders, as her vision became a blurry haze. Her oxygen mask had completely condensed but she held on to the other girl like a lifeline. "I'm sorry." Sara said in desperation. "Just don't leave me here all alone. I can't…" The words seemed to vanished as she choked on them. _I can't do this all alone._

"He has freed you from your chains." Christina managed to say as her eyes began to close. "Never alone. Remember…" She suddenly she was still and Sara felt her own body begin to shudder as she stared at what was left behind to decay, rot, decompose and vanish on this stinking world. _Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil. _She thought. _Shall fear no evil. _She had tried so desperately hard to avoid this horrendous place but that only managed to capture the Doctor's interest and in turn, it had cost Sara, her friend's life. _What evil shall I fear? _He was staring directly at her, a closeted expression in his eyes. _Oh God, help me. Evil is all around me._

"You!" She got up turning on the Doctor feeling all her anger and resentment boil to the surface. "You did this!" She swung her hands at him punching him in the chest as he moved quickly, wrapping both his arms around hers, pinning them to her body so she could barely move. She struggled violently against him. "Am I all grown up now? Got what you wanted? Because her death," The words nearly choked in her throat. "Is on you."

"Sara, I'm sorry but she was your responsibility." She looked at him horrified. "She knew the risks involved." His words seemed hollow even to his own ears and he looked at Sara who had turned her head to stare at Christina's body with a clear look of agony in her eyes.

"Let me go." She whispered and he finally relinquished her seeing that she only wanted to resume her posture of grieving and when she collapsed on her knees next to Christina, gripping the dead girl's hand once more he found himself wearily examining the scene thinking hard.

_I'm not just a Time Lord, I'm the Last of the Time Lords. They'll never come back. Not now. I've got a TARDIS. Same old life, last of the Time Lords. And they died and took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed, gone forever. The Time Lords kept their eye on everything. It's gone now. But they died now, the Time Lords! All of them, they died. I'm the last of the Time Lords._

One had died already that wasn't meant to, that he was sure of judging by Sara's reaction and just earlier today she had accused him of hypocrisy. Maybe she was right since the Time Lords were given rules and mandates for which to govern and he had been using the same principles instilled by his own people which inevitably forced his hand to eradicate the others of his kind using The Moment device. He was the last of his kind with no council to answer to. No fears of being exiled to some remote planet or censured, having regenerations revoked because all that remained right now were him. The last of the Time Lords.

Glancing down at Sara, he took her arm. "Come on Sara. You need to get up. We don't have much time to do this."

"To do what?" She asked blankly trying to still cling onto Christina's hand only to follow his gaze back to Bowie Base One while shaking her head in resolute protest. "No, we can't! Doctor listen! You'll spiral breaking this rule. Don't, oh God please!" She begged, her breath was hitching as she struggled wildly, but he wasn't listening as he already pushed her into standing position and was dragging her back towards the airlock. _She's rambling and in shock. No use trying to reason with her right now._

Sara became desperate as she searched her mind for anything to stop him in his tracks. "Doctor, stop. Please. Please. You're not the last Time Lord. You're not alone. I swear," Sara lied to him. She'd try anything to stop what he was about to do. "Don't... don't break the laws of time." The Doctor didn't cease pulling her forward towards the base. He only paused long enough to give Sara a glare. "I am the last. All this time, I thought I was just a survivor. But I'm not. Sara. I'm the winner. The laws of time are mine. And they will obey me." Sara cringed at his words. She pulled back, trying to slow him down. But he was too strong. His grip was too tight. "Everything will obey me," he whispered to himself under his breath. No more, he thought. No more useless death. No. More. He had the power. He had control. And he would control... everything.

**A/N: I hope I didn't leave you hanging too long. Thank you to LovelyAmberLight for her inspiration and to Fan Fictional Authoress for being my Beta and to all of your reviews as they help inspire me too and keep me going. **


	16. Victory

He had dragged her back into the airlock, and even as Sara tried to grasp onto the exterior with her fingers, a Time Lord's strength was no match for her own, especially since she wasn't getting the oxygen she was used to. He had one arm around her, keeping her hands effectively pinned as he manipulated the controls with his sonic screwdriver. "Where are they?" He muttered aloud as he searched. "Oh, of course, I should have known."

"Doctor, please," Sara begged. "It's not too late, just listen."

He shook his head. "Nope, done listening to you." The door opened into the interior. "Section F, that's where they are." He pulled her forward and yanked off her oxygen mask as she let out a gasp. "Can't go back now, why not make this easy, eh, Sara?"

She stared at him and pondered where in this alien was the man Rose fell in love with, the person for one moment she remembered a distinct bond of telepathic unity mixed with complete trust. This creature that wore the Doctor's visage had chaos in his eyes, and she shuddered, never imagining what the reality would be to see when he had decided to cut the cords for the foundation for which his very rules of time were grounded. He was a Time Lord and had declared time his enemy and this very same person dragged her away from Christina. _Oh, God, Christina. _Her body was still warm on the Martian landscape. She deserved to be buried and not left here to rot in this hellhole, forgotten, and he had simply hauled her away.

He was asking if she would make this easy for him, help him to tear the universe apart. _Save yourself or you'll remain unsaved. _Christina's words to her and no matter the consequence she would try to fulfill her last wish.

"You're so full of shit." Her words were flat as she glared at him incessantly. "Never, I'll never help you," she swore. "You might as well-" He yanked her inside the section, and she could see the remaining survivors in panic moving about. They hadn't noticed them yet. He gripped her shoulders, making eye contact, using his psychic empathy field to easily penetrate the bare outskirts of her mind. "_You will_ _listen to me, Sara_." She gazed back at him, momentarily, unable to resist. "_You will not attempt to leave this room until I am finished."_

Releasing her, she slumped against the wall, in shock, her eyes glazed; she reached her hands up to grasp her head as if to fight the suggestion inside her mind. She didn't know how to use his name and so couldn't countermand the temporary order he had given her. She was unable to leave and could only mumble as she stared at him, tears welling in her eyes.

"You were my hero once," she managed to whisper. "But what are you now?" Unable to move, her body was slack. "Should I just call you the Valeyard?"

"Sara," he said warningly. He didn't believe her, he was on the brink, stepping over the edge of an abyss and couldn't see past the darkness in his soul.

"No," she protested as she struggled to get to her feet, only to find that her body wouldn't obey her commands as she slumped to her ground looking at the Time Lord as he stared at her, satisfied. "Doesn't matter," she mumbled as he started to drift away from her. "Can't save her, never could."

The Doctor turned to Mia. "Take this sealant," he said startling the group. "Fix that rig." He tossed the canister to her before turning to Yuri. "Open that emergency oxygen." He started to approach Adelaide who was crouching on the ground eyeing him suspiciously. "Don't just sit there." He gripped her arm, forced her up to standing. She backed away, staring at Sara who was slumped against the wall struggling to stand but was fighting in desperation the commands implanted inside her mind.

Mia started to apply the sealant, while Yuri began using the oxygen as Adelaide approached Sara in confusion. "What's wrong, why did you return? Where's your other friend?"

Tears started to come down Sara's face as she shook her head and looked in the direction of the airlock. Adelaide rested a hand on Sara's shoulder while turning to the Doctor. "It can't be stopped, don't die with us," she protested. "Take her out of here and leave."

"No!" The Doctor refused. "Because someone told me before that I was going to die, but I know what that means, and it doesn't mean right here, right now, because I don't feel my death coming, do you?"

Suddenly there was a banging on the door. "Not so fast." The Doctor said as he savagely jammed a button down on the console, electrifying the door. He smiled ruthlessly. "Water and electricity, bad mix."

"There's no way to fight them." Adelaide met the Doctor's gaze. "This is my time, you both told me that.

"I'm so sorry," Sara mumbled. "I need to tell you something, can't let you die the other way. Oh, God, Christina's rotting just outside. The Doctor wants a life for a life, he'll destroy it all."

"What do you mean?"

"Heat! They use water, so we can use heat!" He's pressing buttons on the computer before rushing across the room. "Works against the Ice Warriors, works against the Flood. We'll ramp up the environment controls and steam them!"

"You said we die!" She exclaimed to both the Doctor and to Sara. "For the future, for the human race."

She managed to crawl over to where the Doctor was furiously using the computer console. "Listen." Her head pounded as she struggled to speak. "You can't change Adelaide's fate. Whether she dies here or kills herself in-"

He glanced at her. "Kills herself?" He looked at Adelaide with a spark of apprehension, taking notice of her weapon that was holstered at her side.

"I-I, please, just let her die with dignity, as the hero she was meant to be, the inspiration."

"That's for me to decide."

"What about her? She has a choice too," Sara protested.

"Not anymore." He looked at her intently. "She'll try to kill herself?"

_Maybe it's best he didn't know. _She switched subjected out of desperation. "Let me go back to Christina."

"Not happening, you're staying right here," he commanded.

Tears swam in her field of vision. "So, I'll have nothing to bury, no piece of her left. She's wiped out, like she never existed." She glanced down at her hands, still covered in bloody residue and scrubbed at the traces that were left behind.

"It's too late for any of this now," he told her coldly.

Adelaide looked at Sara with a trace of compassion in her eyes as she approached the Doctor. "You told me about my granddaughter, I was supposed to inspire her with my death. That she came out to the stars, searching for me, and that was the point."

The Doctor stared back and through Adelaide. "Yes, because there are laws, there are Laws of Time. Once upon a time, there were people in charge of those laws, but they died, they all died. Do you know who that leaves?" He paused briefly as he looked between Sara and Adelaide. "Me," he exclaimed and Sara suddenly flinched. "It's taken me all these years to realize the Laws of Time are mine, and they will obey me!" He was yelling now and everyone left had stopped to stare at him.

The base shuddered all around them and the crew was thrown to the floor away from the equipment as it sparked in protest. "Environment controls are down! Sorry, Doctor, it looks like history's got other ideas. Please, just take your friend and-"

He stood up looking at them all with a ferocious gleam in his eyes. "Not beaten yet, I'll go outside and look at the heat regulator." He cursed to find both Sara's and his helmets broken by the sudden quake. "No!" He exclaimed. "Not beaten, not beaten!" He tossed the helmets aside and ran in the next section looking for additional spacesuits. His departure was brief as he quickly returned looking more incensed than ever. "We're not fighting the Flood, we're fighting time itself." He measured a glare at Adelaide and Sara. "And I'm going to win!"

All Sara could do was watch the Doctor, helpless and in horror, from the distance as he raced around the room, opening compartments until he found the very robot he previously dictated as flimsy. She knew right away that he had stuck the key to the TARDIS into the robot's grasping hand and with modifications from his sonic screwdriver, sent it on its path back to the TARDIS, while the Doctor controlled the robot from its mainframe, directing it back to his ship.

"Come on, come on," he muttered.

Adelaide glanced at Sara and in their eye contact, they could both sense the profound truth of their situation at hand. Sara shook her head mutely as she looked at the Doctor, who was fully engaged in controlling the robot. Adelaide nodded to Sara with a shared expression of ancient wisdom and understanding as she started taping on the keyboard.

The computer responded. "Implementing Captain's Protocol."

The Doctor looked up at her, alarmed. "Adelaide, what are you doing?"

Mia's eyes quickly assessed the console. "Oh my God, Action Five."

His eyes darkened as he stared at the woman who dared challenge his authority. "If I have to fight you as well, then I will." He was a Time Lord, there was no doubt he would win. _What is she thinking?_

Adelaide didn't pause as she quickly hit enter and the program responded. "Nuclear device, now active and primed." It repeated again. "Nuclear device, now active and primed."

"For Susie," Adelaide whispered.

The Doctor, rather than paying mind to this, used his sonic screwdriver on the robot's control panel. "Blast off," he exclaimed.

"Gadget-Gadget." The robot zoomed down the tunnel at an accelerated speed. The next few moments were chaotic as the crew used fire extinguishers on the flames that had burst around the section. Adelaide backed away from the controls, shaking her head at the Doctor and looking at Sara who was huddled on the ground.

"Your friend?" Adelaide asked her.

"My responsibility, it was my fault," Sara muttered. "Should have been me."

"No," Adelaide said. "You shouldn't have been brought here in the first place." She glanced up at the Doctor. "He's mad." Her hand clasped the weapon at her side.

"What will you do?" Sara asked, looking at her forlornly.

"I'm ensuring the future." Adelaide looked down at her weapon. "By any means necessary."

"Shouldn't have to be like this." Sara closed her eyes. "Should have had dignity."

"Then promise me I'll get some." Adelaide looked her straight in the eyes. "You're not a coward, I can tell that much."

"I talked to him, he won't listen to me." She drew a deep breath. "Doesn't believe a word I say."

"And we're in!" The Doctor seemed to laugh maniacally and only seconds later, the TARDIS materialized directly in the very same room.

Yuri and Mia were both in shock, so when he pushed them inside, they offered little resistance. He yanked both Adelaide and Sara off the ground as she tried once again to flail against him. "Time to go Sara." He shoved them through the door. "See, what did I tell you? I always win." As she tried to reach for the knob, he held her back sealing the door with his screwdriver, so try as she might, Sara could not get back out of the TARDIS, and Adelaide collapsed to her knees beside her, stunned, staring at the Doctor. He wasted no time in removing his orange spacesuit, discarding it to the side of the console.

The ride was a jolting one as they dematerialized, but finally, the ship settled down once more, and he unlocked the door, opening it, allowing his passengers to go outside.

The remaining crew and Sara staggered outside, looking around in disbelief at the swift change in their environment. One minute, they had been preparing for certain death and now they were back on Earth, utterly perplexed of whether they had fallen prey to some type of illusion.

"Isn't anyone going to thank me?" The Doctor asked as he folded his arms across his chest, looking fully impressed with himself, as he appeared to be internally gloating.

Adelaide stared at the street directly in front of her glancing back at the Doctor. "That's my house." She was desperately trying to reaffirm her sense of reality to her. _This is wrong, I should be dead, I need to be dead._

"Don't you get it? This is the 21st of November 2059, same day on Earth." He looked up at the night sky. "And it's snowing, I love snow," his tone was almost idle.

Sara was shivering in the background. She had discarded her own spacesuit and dumped it in the corner of the TARDIS, hardly caring about the mess, since it was thoroughly soaked with Christina's blood. Now, she only was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, but at least she wasn't bound by that hideous hypnotic command to stay in that wretched room that went up in flames due to the nuclear blast.

"What is that thing?" Mia asked in obvious confusion and fear. "It's bigger…I mean, it's bigger on the inside!" She turned on the Doctor backing away. "Who the hell are you?" Unable to cope any further, she ran off down the street away from the TARDIS and its occupant, she could hardly be blamed.

Yuri glanced up at Adelaide who gave him a nod. "Look after her," she said, her tone was bereft with sadness. Yuri left swiftly, heading directly after Mia.

Adelaide turned to the Doctor, facing him with a stony expression. _Here it comes. _Sara thought, and she realized that this was the tip of the iceberg. The foundations of the Time Lord Victorious had been built so long before, but nevertheless, it was gut wrenching to watch.

"You saved us," Adelaide said.

"Just think though, your daughter, and your daughter's daughter, you can see them again." His smile was some maligned distortion. "Family reunion!"

"But I'm supposed to be dead!" She snapped and Sara swallowed as the Doctor was unaffected by her proclamation.

"Not anymore," he told her flatly.

"But Susie, my granddaughter, the person she's supposed to become might never exist now!" Adelaide protested.

He shrugged. "Nah, Captain Adelaide can inspire her face-to-face, different details, but the story's the same."

"You can't know that!" Adelaide clenched her hands into fists. "And if my family changes, the whole of history could change, the future of the human race." She glared at the Doctor. "No one should have that much power."

"Tough." The Doctor was indifferent, and Sara was sickened. It was playing out right before her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Sara managed to murmur in consolation to Adelaide as she inched closer to the woman and away from the darkened figure that was now the Doctor.

"You should have left us there." Adelaide started to take several steps away from him._ No other way to fix this, only one choice._

He was closing the distance between the two of them. "Adelaide, I've done this sort of thing before, in small ways, saved some little people, but never someone as important as you." His smile became a leer. "Oh, I'm good!"

Adelaide's disgust shown plainly in her eyes. "Little people?" She looked down the street where her crewmembers had left. "What, like Mia and Yuri? Who decides they're so unimportant, you?"

He eyes were so completely veiled, darkened as he took another step closer. "For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor, but I'm not, I'm the winner," he announced, looking at both Sara and Adelaide in complete dominance of his newfound achievement. "That's who I am, the Time Lord Victorious."

There was utter silence as Sara clenched her arms around her middle, feeling dry heaves of nausea as what she had most dreaded had come to pass, but Adelaide stared at him directly.

"This is wrong, Doctor, I don't care who you are," She sneered. "The Time Lord Victorious is wrong."

His voice was icy and remote, "That's for me to decide." He glanced at her house. "Now you'd better get home. Oh, it's all locked up," he sighed. "You've been away, still that's easy." He removed the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and pointed it at the door. "All yours."

"Is there nothing you can't do?" Adelaide's voice was contemptuous.

"Not anymore," he said but as she was about to walk to her home, he reached forward, taking her arm. "But one last thing." He seized the weapon out of her holster. "Would hate for there to be any accidents, don't you agree Sara?"

Sara's hand flew to her mouth. She had told him about Adelaide taking her own life as a warning so that he might allow the events on Mars to take place as they were meant to occur, and now he had used that piece of knowledge against her.

Adelaide was shocked as the Doctor examined the gun with a measure of disgust and tossed it aside on the ground. "Weapons, why you humans carry them is beyond me."

Adelaide was frozen in her tracks as she stared at the Doctor, her hands gripped at her sides. "Doctor, I need to die, you know it, I know it."

"Did you not just hear me?" His voice was low but ruthless as he looked directly at Adelaide. "The rules of time, everything will now listen to me!" He pointed at himself. "Just me."

Sara stared at the discarded weapon that lay only a short distance away from her feet. The Doctor was momentarily distracted with Adelaide, and without thinking, she bent down and seized it, immediately recognizing the trigger. She could feel her heart pounding as her entire body seemed to vibrate with the gun she had in her hand and trying to summon up what courage she was able, she aimed the weapon at Adelaide.

"Sara, what are you doing?" The Doctor exclaimed as he took a step towards her, but she shook her head frantically, as she immediately pivoted the weapon briefly towards him. He took a deep breath, looking at her closely. Sara didn't strike him as a killer, and her hand was shaking, he just needed to talk her down.

She turned the weapon once more on Adelaide, who nodded in encouragement to Sara. "Do it, help me, I need to die, you know I do." Sara took a deep breath to try to steady her nerves. Could she really take another human life? She hadn't even held a weapon in the whole of her existence and could barely take to killing insects at home. How was she to perform this task? _I have to, it'll rip reality apart if I don't. One life to save billions. _It was a numbers game but this arithmetic was a wretched one.

"Now, Sara, calm down," the Doctor was speaking in a reassuring tone. "Think, think about what you're doing."

Oh, she was thinking. _Thou shalt not kill. _For her, it was a mortal sin, would any contrition remedy this one act? _Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. _

"Just stop, just think, it doesn't have to be like this," he pleaded.

She glanced at him and then back at Adelaide, tears coursed down her cheeks, her hands were sweaty, the trigger was slippery, her arm was weak, and then, she knew, she couldn't do it. No matter the consequence, she wasn't able to take another life. Slowly, she lowered the weapon, staring at Adelaide, feeling evermore the coward. "I can't," she muttered to her. "Forgive me." She looked directly into the older woman's eyes. "I'm so sorry, I just can't."

Adelaide offered her the faintest glimmer of a smile. "There is nothing to forgive."

Suddenly, before Sara knew it, Adelaide rushed forward seizing the weapon that was partially still in Sara's slackened grip, pulling Sara's hand forward. A large sound that nearly deafened Sara was heard, while there was a flash of light that momentarily blinded her, and suddenly Sara was left standing, the gun still in her hand with Adelaide before her who had dropped to her knees.

"_No!"_ The Doctor screamed as he turned to Sara in disgust. "What have you done?"

Adelaide fell onto her back as the Doctor rushed to her side and began to apply pressure to her wound that was bleeding copiously from her open chest cavity. Sara gazed numbly at the weapon in her hand, which was soaked in blood and back to Adelaide. _What have I done? _In the end, she couldn't do it, she was giving up and then Adelaide grabbed her arm. She had been unprepared, but it was Sara that had picked up the weapon in the first place, and now…

She looked back to the Adelaide whose gaze only met the Doctor with fierce triumph. "The Time Lord Victorious is wrong." Adelaide spared one favorable glance at Sara and then turned back to the Doctor. "We stopped you."

"No one can stop me." The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver with fervent, obsessive determination. "Least of all some stupid ape."

Sara jumped at his words, the hand holding Adelaide's weapon was shaking. What did he mean? What…what was he going to do her? _Oh, God, help me. _It's far worse than she imagined.

The Doctor moved his sonic towards Adelaide but stopped short. Adelaide wasn't breathing, wasn't moving, she was already gone.

The Doctor let out a horrific, unearthly cry. The sound shocked Sara out of her frozen state, she backed away slowly, terror ripping through her. _What kind of monster would make that cry? _She glanced once more at the weapon in her blood soaked hand, and then at what was left of the Doctor feeling sick inside, dropped the gun and fled. _Must get away, must hide. Oh, God, it's him. The Time Lord Victorious, a breath away from… _No, she couldn't allow herself to think anymore.

Fear and horror propelled her forward, for she could no longer be around that thing any longer. There were no more rules, all bets were off, as she desperately sprinted away from that terrifying monstrosity. _What have I done? _She thought thinking of Adelaide, but the woman had been so utterly certain when she reached for the weapon, no. _What has he done? What has he made me do? _The street was echoing all around her, and she saw them, the Ood, heard their song seeping into her ears. It was mournful and sympathetic as she flew past one of the aliens, who tilted their head in an expression of seeming compassion. They couldn't stall her this time, because he was directly behind her, chasing her down, with the distinct sound of his converse shoes hitting the pavement.

The streets were deserted and there was no one to call for help, so she had only to trust in herself and her own speed. Then she saw a possible refuge, darkened with shadows and trees that seemed to tower to the starless sky. _Hyde Park. _She knew it immediately and, in fifty years, it looked relatively preserved from what she could tell during this frantic hour.

Sara skewed in direction, across the street heading into the dense thicket of Hawthorne trees as she attempted to lose herself in the various foliage, skirting through darkened silhouettes on the ground, her breathing became coarse as she still heard faintly behind her the telltale crunching sound. _Must hide. _No, he had his screwdriver, and he could track her as effectively as a homing beacon. Still, as she made her way forward, he would have to see her in order to catch her. That instrument or no, night created its own veil of obscurity so that had to be her advantage.

Then she could feel water just beneath her ankles, soaking her socks. The lake in the dead center of Hyde Park, it just had to be. The temperature was frigid but her pulse was racing and the sweat from the run gave her undue warmth. He possibly wouldn't anticipate this course, and she didn't think twice as she headed directly into the water and started to swim doing a breaststroke across the darkened pond. The chill hit her like several knifepoints across her body as she could feel her clothes and shoes acting as dead weights nearly dragging her beneath the surface. Numbly, she kicked off her sneakers letting them sink to the bottom, which improved her situation, if but a little.

After swimming for a treacherous length of time, she staggered onto the shore at the very top of the lake and back into a grove of Ironwood trees, hearing nothing for the moment, she leaned into a notch of one, dripping wet as she rubbed her arms. _Plan, plan, I need a plan. _She thought frantically as she started to move forward stealthily. _Maybe Torchwood, it could still exist, Jack Harkness. _Would she even survive this catastrophe, she had to wonder as she felt her way from tree to tree. _Oh, God, Christina._

It should have been her that died on that miserable planet, and now her friend was blown to ash. _For we come from dust and to dust we shall return. _But she wasn't merely just dust, and Sara had left her body there, all alone to be forgotten. _No. _He dragged her away to save Adelaide, whose life couldn't be saved and the Doctor seized from that woman what little dignity she had. Even Sara failed to have the courage to commit the act to satisfy the rules of time because even now, feeling the sticky reminder of Adelaide's blood on her hands, she was a coward.

Tears swam into Sara's vision, Adelaide had looked directly at Sara and had forgiven her regardless, and in the end, accounted her an ally against their mutual adversary. Still, Adelaide's death, Christina's death, would forever rack her conscious as she had taken their self-respect in their final hour. _Through my fault, through my fault, through my own grievous fault. Oh, God, I'd turn it back, it's my fault. _Her mind was filled with fragmented thoughts pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle.

She was so cold in this darkness, but it didn't matter as long as she could elude him and make it through this hellish night. Sara picked up speed a little, wringing the water out of her clothes as she went, making sure to stay within the shadows. Maybe the swim in the icy lake had somehow masked the energy signature and he couldn't read her anymore. It was possible, she could hope, and then all she had to do was keep moving slowly and wait out this revolting hour until morning came. She would find help, protection and she would-

Sara was suddenly seized from behind, and she let out a scream of terror as she fought viciously against the suddenly onslaught. "No second chances, Sara," his voice whispered in her ear. "Don't you remember?"

He had found her once more but she would be damned if he thought she would just let him take her, so she used everything at her disposal to fight against this alien that held her. He had spun her around and she punched, clawed and kicked avoiding making contact with his fiery gaze as he attempted to pin her arms to her side. She fought with intense desperation as much as a feral animal caught in a hideous metal trap without any thought to her own agony, it was all secondary. He was squeezing her tightly by the shoulders and without thinking, she bit his hand hard, her mouth flooded with the coppery taste of his blood. She was awarded with his yelp of pain as he momentarily relinquished his grip, and she was able to jerk free and run forward.

She made it only two steps before she was knocked down from behind, this time, he managed to pin her arms behind her as her face was pressed into the dirt. "Didn't take you for a murderer." His voice was cold.

Shaking, she desperately tried to move but all his weight was pressed against her. She seethed, feeling utterly trapped. "Didn't take you for the Valeyard," she retorted. "So I guess we're both disappointed."

"That's where you're wrong," he countered but she could detect the tiniest flicker of shock in his tone. "I'm the winner, the last of my kind, you're only a human." There was a sneer. "You have no idea what the Valeyard is."

The music was echoing all around them again, plaintive, forlorn, and she could see the Ood again in the periphery of her vision. _Can't he hear it too?_

She didn't know as she continued to try to flail against him, but her struggles were a futile endeavor. "Hypocrite, you're a hypocrite!" She managed to say. "What did you warn me?" She fought to move her arms. "Don't let them know the outcome! Don't change the rules of time!" She gasped for air. "And what did you do? Time Lord Victorious, I knew, I didn't want to see it, I warned you and now? Can you even hear them?"

"Hear who?" His tone was disparaging.

_Oh, God, he can't hear the Ood…_

And that was when Sara knew everything went terribly off track, and the Doctor didn't know the depths of his own depravity. How far into the darkness he had reached when he still hadn't heard enough to pull him back. It was too much. She shouldn't have this kind of responsibility on her shoulders, and she simply couldn't take it anymore.

Whatever his destiny was, it seemed utterly ruined. _Nothing I can do, how can I make this right? How can I…? _But she couldn't rectify this, and the thought of him terrified her, so she renewed her struggle against him with new vigor, kicking out her legs as she screamed. "Get off me!" Violently pulling to get her hands free, the ground and jagged rocks beneath her tore into her clothes. "Please, just let me go, get away from me! Just-"

"It's time for you to sleep," his voice was scornful, and she was horrified, shaking her head from side to side, trying to keep it away from his hands but with his body pinning hers, he clamped his fingers onto her temple. "No!" She screamed at him but he ignored her as he pushed into the outskirts of her mind preparing to use the command.

_No, Doctor, stop! _She begged within the recesses of her own mind and suddenly his presence was gone. Sara took a staggering breath pondering how he managed to be expelled, but it didn't matter as she fought to get his hands away from her head.

_She used my name. _He was furious at the power this little human had managed to garner. She had managed to remove him from her mind once more but when he heard it in her mind, it resounded from utter terror. Desperate times called for desperate measures, as he turned the girl over making full eye contact as she tried to shake her head in refusal.

"Oh, ho, ho." She tried to squirm her way from under him, and he pinned her down once more. "No you don't." His hands flew back to her temple and he penetrated her mind, using all his force as she screamed in agony. "You will obey me," he said forcefully as his grasp tightened on her head planting the command _Sleep _deep within the recesses of her thoughts before she could use his name once more_. _Sara fell into the oblivion surrounded by the song of the Ood that turned into a plaintive wail as she collapsed unconscious and the Time Lord Victorious reached down to reclaim his prize.

**A/N: Thank you to AmberLovelyLight for her ideas in this chapter and inspiration and my beta Fan Fictional Authoress. I think it has been my theory that the Doctor needed to come to Mars to face his own darkness in this way so it could not be avoided. There will be more to unfold of course but thank you for all your past reviews and encouragement!**


	17. Grounded

_To the victor go the spoils. _The Doctor glanced down at the unconscious girl in his arms as he returned to the TARDIS examining her closely. Moderate hypothermia had set in, her skin had become pale while her lips, ears and fingers were starting to turn blue. She was soaked to the skin, which had brought upon her rapid decrease in body temperature but he wasted too much time hunting down his obstinate passenger in Hyde Park to lose her now to such a pathetic human condition.

Swiftly he deposited her into the sleep room adjusting the settings of the ADT monitor to gradually increase the temperature in the compartment while making the necessary alterations to the bed with his sonic screwdriver to allow for pocket sized vents to dry her wet clothing. As a precautionary measure, he modified an IV to introduce warmed saline and dextrose to aid in her extracorporeal warming.

His intent remained firm and he would never again let her step foot off the TARDIS, but she remained solely unique to simply be allowed to perish. Regardless of her accusations of him being the 'Valeyard', _typical human arrogance to use that word so flippantly, _he thought briefly, he was still the Doctor and would behave in that respect. He had given her ample warning and she had ignored his rules that were set in place for her protection. To make matters worse she had aided in the death of the very woman he had striven to save seeming to infect Adelaide with Sara's own measure of self-destructive tendencies.

Sara had not pulled the trigger but had still facilitated her death by simply picking up the weapon and presented Adelaide with the opportunity she was seeking. _Humans and their ineptitude. _He thought scathingly. Sara never took a moment to see the bigger picture of his revelation and her weakening grasp of sanity could have indeed infected Adelaide. That lack of wisdom and insight had driven the woman to seek her own demise even if Sara had not pulled the trigger herself.

He left Sara alone on the bed, leaving her door unsecured knowing with the TARDIS exit firmly, there was no possibility of escape. He decided to tend to what remained of Adelaide's corpse outside unwilling to leave her decomposing in the middle of the street. The revised news articles flashed through his mind when he picked up what remained of her body, eliminating traces of her blood from the snow and taking her corpse aboard the TARDIS. Mia and Yuri survived and Adelaide was reported missing to be presumed dead on Mars, her legacy remaining intact. Their account of his intervention was postulated as shock and would remain a source of urban legend.

He would take her back to what remained of Bowie Base One and make her final resting place deep within the crater itself since she had been insistent on that being where she belonged. After making his course corrections, he landed on Mars and disposed of the task quickly, finding to himself only now how distasteful this planet had become. He needed a change of scenery so he decided to head to the Magellanic Clouds to observe the Phosphorous Carousel, which was a phenomena that only occurred once ever hundred years if he merely timed himself correctly. He frowned making a mental note that following his venture he would need to make a pit stop in Cardiff so his engines could refuel. His mission to collect the trisillicate on Mars did not go precisely as he had planned. The rift often proved itself unstable but would complete the task if he could land at the correct axis point and program his engines for slower absorption. He remembered all too well how his TARDIS was sent careening trillions of years into the future and preferred a surer method to a near catastrophe. It had been a while since he had taken occasion to visit Cardiff regardless and he always had a fondness for Wales.

Upon switching off the time rotor to secure the console, he headed to the door carefully securing it behind him not wishing to leave anything to chance.

Sara emerged to consciousness gradually, feeling the remnants of a searing headache in her skull and lifting a hand to rub her temple, she slowly opened her eyes. Recognizing her surroundings as the sleep room, she struggled to sit up taking note of the passage of time now that the clothing she was wearing was now completely dry. Moreover the room had a warm and somewhat stifling quality to it that she found distinctly unpleasant.

There was a sharp sting in her other arm as she noticed she was attached to an IV and she gazed at the clear liquid that was being dispersed into her arm with distrust. Gritting her teeth, she yanked the needle out of the crook of her elbow bringing sharp tears to her eyes as she stared at her torn hem of her t-shirt. _The Doctor. _She thought._ No, the Time Lord Victorious. God help me. _The disaster on Mars, Christina's death, the Doctor dragging her back to the base and Adelaide's demise came rushing back in vivid detail only to end with her failed attempt at escape.

She had fought him with keen, violent desperation and when she thought she had a moment's reprieve, he boar viciously into her mind with the last words she heard him say, '_You will obey me!'_

Shuddering at the thought, she forced herself to her feet, not wishing to spend another moment in this room, which might render her unconsciousness at any moment. Carefully, she opened the door, relieved to find it unlocked, emerging into the sickbay making note it was empty. _There's one good thing. _The only consolation of being on the TARDIS the last few weeks was she had gotten a basic sense of direction, which prompted her forward into the corridor feeling her heart begin to pound. Cautiously she glanced into the interior of the console room.

Letting out a tremendous sigh of relief to see the Doctor wasn't occupying the room, she made her way inside and stole a quick glance at the navigational monitor startled that she recognized the image that came up on video display. _Cardiff. We're in Cardiff which means…_Hastily she ran to the door that was the exit of the TARDIS only to find it completely locked, no matter how insistently she tugged at the handle or tried to jimmy the dead bolt in place. _No, I'm too close. If I can get to Torchwood and to Jack Harkness…_She tried pounding on the door given the notion that Jack would be aware of the appearance of the TARDIS regardless of the perception filter on the device and he might be able to respond. It was futile. The TARDIS was too distant from the entrance to the Torchwood location so no one responded to her distress. _Think. Think. There must be a way. All those episodes I watched I saw him lock those doors, unlock them but how? _Her mind stole to the episode 'Journey to the Center of the Tardis' where the Eleventh Doctor secured the crew inside to find Clara on the pretense of a phony self-destruct device. But the controls he used were rather undefined, since the angle of the camera wasn't pointed directly at the navigation console and she grit her teeth in determination, racking her mind for another reference.

_Wait, I remember, 'Utopia' and the Master…_She found that villain particularly unpleasant but she last part of the episode had taken her by surprise when he confounded the Doctor and locked him out of his own TARDIS. If his demonstration worked, she decided she would give the Master more credit then previously merited to him. Running to the console, she frantically searched for two switches that indicated 'Enable A' and Enable B' and nearly released a whoop of joy in finding them just next to the panel marked the CU display. Hurriedly she flipped the levers once. _Nothing. No, wait, the door is already locked. _She rotated them back down and was rewarded with a definable click and the rush of delightthat overwhelmed her bordered on near ecstasy. Sara wasted no time, running up the ramp to the exit, throwing the door open only to barrel directly into someone's chest.

Her heart seemed to ram directly into her throat recognizing the tan overcoat even as she tried to sidestep and run out of panic. _No! God please. I'm so close! _But her arms were seized and the Doctor's cold brown eyes met hers. "Going somewhere?"

In desperation, she refused to capitulate and attempted to break free but his grip firmly above her elbows, refused to budge. She was propelled back into the console room, with the Doctor shutting the door behind him.

"You don't have to do this." She was all to eager to say anything at this point to obtain her freedom. "You can't keep me here, I'll only be in the way." Her heart was pounding as he appraised her. "Please, I promise, I'm worthless. Just-."

"That's for me to decide." His tone was icy. "How did you open the door?" The Doctor gazed fixedly at her.

Looking down, she did her best to give a nonchalant shrug utterly refusing lose any future opportunity that she had at escape. "Just pushing random buttons."

The Doctor could plainly see the deceit in her very expression, deciding at that moment further measures had to be taken. "Sara, you are a terrible liar." He told her as her breath hitched in her throat.

"Well at least I learned from the best." Looking at him squarely, she felt nothing but disgust for this person who had taken on the guise of the hero she remembered. "Are you really so eager to prove Davros right?" Her vision became muddled. "The Destroyer of worlds." She recalled. "My universe is gone and you nearly tore your reality apart but for what?" She demanded. "Your ego? To win?"

He pulled her out of the console room and into the hallway, turning to cast her a glare. "Perhaps you didn't hear me before." His tone was harsh. "I am the last of the Time Lords. All the rules have changed and any damage inflicted to reality, I can contain. I-"

"You're a loser." Sara was shaking her head. "Adelaide, you know what she said to me? She called you mad and she was supposed to pull you back. You know you've gone too far. She-"

"…was a fool. A little human who you helped destroy. Don't remember that? She-"

"…was a better person then you." Sara cut him off. "The Time Lord Victorious is wrong." She repeated Adelaide's words.

"You'd better get used to it." He had dragged her into her room, finally releasing her as she collapsed onto her bed staring at him blankly. "Since I can't trust you in the TARDIS on your own," he removed his sonic screwdriver and made his way to her door.

"What would Rose say if she saw you now?"

The question caught him completely off guard as he looked at Sara who wasn't attempting to move from her position on the bed but merely staring at her hands. Her posture echoed one of defeat and in the distant recesses of his mind he felt nearly something akin to pity. He attempted to shake the mere emotion away but looking at Sara, it did nothing to quell it but he had to remain firm. Still, she glanced up at him with those hazel eyes that were so similar to that of the Rose he lost and he found it unpleasant to even to contemplate what his former companion would say if she was still on board.

No, Rose was gone, in a parallel world never to be seen again and when he declared himself victorious over time, he felt as though he was able to conquer that loss as well, pushing it to the side so that nothing else mattered but his triumphant recognition.

Sara could perceive the flickers of doubt as she stared at the Time Lord who examined her with a dubious expression. "She loved you." She grasped the comforter beneath her and silently prayed for strength. "I know she still does." A solitary tear trickled down her face. "Don't you remember how you were after you destroyed Gallifrey? Alone. Forgotten. But she brought you hope no matter how lost you were."

"Rose is gone." His voice was empty.

"Her memory isn't and she made you better." Sara replied, quoting his words from Bad Wolf Bay. "She-"

"Enough." He looked at her fiercely. "You had your chance and that's over." He turned in sonic screwdriver on the door. "I keep my promises so for the next sixty years, you can consider this your home." He intoned, gesturing to her room as Sara looked at him in horror. "Difficult to know precisely how long each human might live but I'd make yourself comfortable."

She shook her head in protest. "Doctor, please don't-"

"Ample warning, Sara." He shrugged as he made his way into the corridor and saw her push herself off the bed. "See you soon." He closed the door, which was soon followed by the distinct pounding on the metal framework as she pleaded with him in desperation.

Of course since Sara was considered an item of value and a mystery he hadn't fully rectified, so he would be required to check in on her from time to time. Meanwhile, he would program the TARDIS monitoring subsystem to provide her necessary nourishment throughout the day as was required. Now that she was safely stowed inside, she definitely wasn't leaving the confines of the machine and with determination, he made his way to the navigation console deciding another trip was in order to attempt to clear his mind of Sara's persistent reminder of Rose.

Being that he always had an affinity for the color ginger, he programmed into the time rotor to take him to the year 1562 since Queen Elizabeth I of England was prominently known in part for her flaming red hair. He grinned in anticipation hardly knowing what to expect, eager to meet this young monarch and given to this sudden impulsive whim, how could he dare refuse?

Time seemed to lose all meaning to Sara trapped within the confines of four ubiquitous walls, which seemed to resonate a mournful hum that equaled her utter loneliness. There was no measurement to calculate the passage of hours and why would there be on a machine that could traverse the years within a blink of an eye yet Sara could swear she heard a distant ticking of a misbegotten clock echo throughout her entire room. The sound alone was beginning to drive her mad and she feared to sleep because every time she closed her eyes she saw the Valeyard chasing her through the infinite passageways of the TARDIS.

The Doctor visited her on occasion scrutinizing her much like a scientist would study a lab rat caught in a maze yet she became resolute in presenting a wall of silence towards him. Her fury of him matched her terror equally so his visits earned him little satisfaction; Sara made certain of that. As far as she was concerned, he had taken everything from her, leaving her to rot in solitary confinement. She knew however, he would have little patience for her refusal to answer his questions even if she didn't know the responses herself. As time wore on in its perpetual motion, she made a quiet decision that she could no longer live if this was the life she would be expected to endure for the next sixty years.

It was monumentally painful when she faced the truth as she sat on her bed clutching Christina's Cup of Athelstan, tracing the delicate images contained on its surface, knowing in giving up she wasn't saving herself; surely her chains weren't broken and she had to tell herself Christina would understand when facing a life of misery. In confinement, preventing her own suffering was an understandable option. Even in certain circumstances astronauts and military were given cyanide as a form of euthanasia and that's all this would be for her. For what was life without an opportunity to have a family, to have children, to develop a community with others on her own planet? _It's hell. Right now, this is hell. _So she uttered a silent prayer asking for forgiveness as she swore never to consume the food or drink the TARDIS presented her each day. She managed to dispense of the contents in the bathroom connected to her room to avoid any undue suspicion. Cyanide was not an available option to her and there were no other instruments in her room that would facilitate her departure in a more timely fashion. The shower did not extend to that of a bathtub to drown herself so her choices were exceedingly limited.

Her head ached dully after the first day and then lingering spells of dizziness set in so she could barely make it to the bathroom to dispose of the dishes that appeared on her nightstand. She began to see terrifying images of shadows lengthening along the wall, creeping towards her as she huddled away from them, blinking her eyes quickly in her attempts to make them dissipate. In durations they did, leaving her in peace to hold onto Christina's stolen artifact muttering prayers that in this void where time didn't exist, her soul would nevertheless be found and taken to be reunited with her family at last.

_Now I lay me down to sleep. _How much time had passed? The shadows were becoming more intrusive as she lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. She was utterly freezing but didn't have the strength to pull the covers over her body and why delay her inevitable departure? _Christina won't be mad will she? We'll still be friends. _She pondered that thought fleetingly but then her notions never persisted for long, becoming fragmented, distorted whispers and distantly she heard the slight groan of the TARDIS. She smiled briefly thinking that despite the telepathic bond the Doctor and this soul that surrounded her shared, she welcomed Sara considering her something more then just a stray. "I'm sorry." She murmured, her tongue feeling thick inside her mouth, her throat raspy. "Can't be here anymore. You have to…" She paused not remembering what the TARDIS had to do. "Shouldn't be here." It was barely a whisper. "Not on track, all out of sync. You tell him when…" She was too tired to finish that sentence and surely the sentience would know what to say through their telepathic bond.

The lethargy she was feeling now creeping along her body was unduly pleasant and her body felt numb as she no longer felt the freezing temperature she experienced only a short while ago. The shadows no longer seemed threatening but almost warm and welcoming as they gestured to Sara, inviting her freely to join them. She had been so long without company that she nodded without hesitation and they stole over her, draping over skin as soft as butterfly wings. She remembered her mother telling her it was good luck if a butterfly landed on her by choice and if she made a wish, it would surely come true. What was her wish? _I pray the Lord my soul to keep. _She always tossed coins in a wishing well hoping those desires would soon come to pass. _Forgiveness. _She had certainly made a mess in this universe where she never belonged and in that place where nothing ever changed, she wanted nothing more then her own familial redemption. _And if I die before I wake…_she could no longer swallow, her throat was so dry, as she beckoned to the other shades coursing throughout her room to be with her now for their presence gave her immense solace. Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy as she took one last gaze throughout the room feeling little in terms of fear, blissful to give into this final sleep that welcomed her with such open arms. _I pray the Lord my soul to take. _Her eyes fell close as she gave her final submission to the shadows that awaited her spirit.

The Doctor's journey to renaissance England proved to be a inexplicable experience yet strangely self-satisfying occurrence. From partaking in the indulgences for which the court of Elizabeth I offered, events of the period proved to be rather hazy in his mind. He had proposed on a whim to her never thinking she would accept but to his surprise she did which made him somewhat suspicious however despite his pragmatism, he dismissed them and went through the marriage ceremony which was a rather intimate affair. As for witnesses that were present during the occasion, he recalled a myriad of faces, blurred before him, which he accounted as drinking too much wine.

_The virgin queen. _He scoffed. Well, she certainly couldn't justify that title any longer after their wedding night. Still, upon departing he left feeling oddly nostalgic for something indefinable he couldn't place and his hardened exterior seemed to flicker. He wondered if he really allowed Sara's words to rankle him for when he slept which was very rarely, he dreamed of Rose simply standing there gazing at him, her eyes analyzing him in judgment until they appeared to glow with a diffuse light.

In his attempt to banish her memory from his mind, he found a planet nearly at threat to be devoured by the Red Carnivorous Maw for which he managed to intercede without the inhabitants of the planet being made aware. It was then when he returned to the TARDIS that he was immediately struck by a warning with his telepathic bond to the sentience. She was groaning all around him in protest and he felt a mixture of alarm as he pondered what was upsetting her so deeply. Then he realized her concern was not for a malfunctioning part but the other inhabitant on the ship whom he left in her care. He hadn't checked on Sara for nearly a week as she was predisposed to giving him the silent treatment, taking to stare blankly at the Cup of Athelstan or the wall directly in front of her. He had been frustrated at the fact that he made little headway in his attempts to discern how she had been able to interpret his ancient language. He decided to give her ample time before his next week for humans were social by nature and the absence of any company would thereby make her greedy for his conversation regardless of the circumstance.

However, his connection with the TARDIS told him that his previous judgment might have been inherently flawed, as he wasted no time, heading to Sara's room.

Opening the door, he released a brief curse as he saw her apparently asleep but judging by the severity of her dry skin and sunken eyes, it appeared a coma was more likely. Removing his sonic screwdriver, he noted her weak pulse and significantly lowered blood pressure characteristic of Hypovolemic Dehydration and upon completing his diagnostic he made the grim determination that she purposely had deprived herself of nutrients to hasten her own demise.

In those moments, he experienced his first threads of panic as he scooped her off the bed, carrying her to sickbay setting her beneath a stasis field in the surgical containment web while implementing isotonic rehydration therapy with modified nanites and intravenous fluids combined. His further observations concluded that there was a weakening in the synaptic functioning of the ascending reticular activating system from her prolonged period of dehydration and malnutrition. _How did I let it get this far? _Using a telepathic connection to enter her mind at this state to rouse her to consciousness could very well damage her cerebral cortex in her current predicament. He refused to risk it since he couldn't calculate if he had done any injury when he chased her down in Hyde Park and penetrated her mind in a violent display of his fury.

He swallowed, thinking hard, staring at the girl in the status field knowing full well she had attempted to take her own in retaliation to her imprisonment. If he had strayed one more day, she might have been successful and he became perplexed by stray feelings of regret. As the last of his people, he had declared himself victorious over time itself swearing that nothing would stand in his way but she still remained fiercely determined. He had demanded obedience but Adelaide insisted on facilitating her own demise and Sara remained obstinate to his wishes to the point of her own destruction.

He shook his head in refusal. "No more." The very words sounded so recent to him as he looked at the unconscious human before him. "You're not going anywhere." The Doctor told her, his intent was to keep his voice firm but he found himself surprised to detect a tremor while he felt the basic inkling of despair. _I'm not going to lose her._

Sara found herself wandering into the console room of the TARDIS vaguely confused of how she reached this destination in the first place. She remembered…what did she remember exactly? Her room and the shadows growing everywhere coming forward to embrace her but how did she get here? The area also looked distinctly different, which had sweeping colors of blue and grey overtones giving the region a more comforting yet sterile tone.

The change was drastic compared to the muted orange she was used to seeing in this expanse and she didn't know what to make of it.

"My favorite color." She muttered reflecting briefly on this tonal choice as she looked up to the symbols spinning directly overhead.

"I know." A voice echoed in confirmation behind her. She was startled and turned, then began to shake her head feeling tremors of fear. _The Valeyard! _She backed away from the apparent image of the Eleventh Doctor, as she looked frantically around her for a means of escape.

"No, Sara, it's me." He persisted as he cautiously started to approach her. "It's the Doctor." She continued to back away. "I regenerated and I changed. You remember? Seeing all my-"

"You're not taking my mind!" She yelled at the image directly in front of her. "I know who you really are!"

With that she fled into the corridor heading down the circuitous passageway but every time she turned a corner, she could see him steadily following her with an expression that seemed to mimic concern. She was used to such pretense since the Doctor under his pretext of responsibility initially took her and now in her nightmares, what was to come tormented her each night but she refused to be fooled by an illusion. So she kept running down the strangely pristine hallways, so different then her nightmares, which contained images of mildew and rot. No trace of that filth was present but she refused to allow herself pause until she was horrified to suddenly reach a dead end. There was nowhere else to go and as she turned she saw him carefully approach her as she huddled close to the wall, hoping he would simply vanish.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said calmly standing only a short distance apart from her.

"Liar." She accused, wrapping her arms around herself. "Why do you even bother?"

"I give you my word." He said gently. "You do remember that, don't you Sara?"

"This from the Valeyard." She shook her head. "Is it some kind of game?"

"The Vale-?" He started to repeat and then looked upon her with utter sadness that seemed completely foreign to the vision of the Valeyard that lingered in her mind. "I'm sorry." His tone rang with regret. "I had no idea how bad it was for you. Should have realized what I put you through."

His dark green eyes were different, not twisted and distorted but so much like the character she remembered from the show that Sara could not fathom what part of her subconscious would bring this version here. Her conflict as she stared at this figure could not be more apparent as she leaned against the side of the hallway for support. _Is this some new form of hell? _The Tenth Doctor had stripped her freedom from her and this version of the Eleventh was only a regenerated form, still the Doctor in another body. "So now I dream about you?" Her voice was shaking. "And what will you do? Lock me in my room? Call me a murderer?" She slid down to the floor. "Because I've heard that all before!"

He took a step forward and slowly bent down to her level. She flinched in reaction and he held out a reassuring hand. "It's all right, Sara. You're fine. I'm only here to talk."

"To talk?" She folded her arms around her knees pondering what a phantom of her subconscious would have to say.

"You don't actually believe I'm here, do you?

Her eyes stared blankly at him in response. "Do you remember how time travel has always been possible in dreams?"

Turmoil radiated in her mind but she remembered the precept as she gazed around her surroundings. "Madame Vastra." She recalled. "She used a soporific." Then realization started to dawn on her. "You're visiting me from the future but that's a para-"

"Not quite. Haven't crossed my own time stream and I'm only here now because you need me." His recalcitrance showed greatly. "I treated you despicably and I owe you this much to be with you now."

"Why?"

"You tried to kill yourself and you lapsed into a coma for two days. I was nearly too late but I reached you just in time." He told her softly. "The state your in now allows for us to communicate openly and there are things you need to know."

Tears glistened in her eyes and she looked down at her hands. "I don't want to be here anymore."

"I understand." He replied. "It's my fault, I know." She shook his head. "The person that I was is so distant now and I tend to like to forget."

"So you changed."

"A possibility, yes." He looked weary. "Christina's death was not your fault or your responsibility; in the end I was alone to blame and Sara, one more thing."

"What?"

"You are not a murderer." His voice was firm.

"All I ever wanted was to have a normal life, have a career, get married, have children and in an instant that was gone." She said bitterly.

"Do you want to know why?"

"Why…?" She was puzzled.

"Why you survived the void space and why you're here." He clarified. "How you can read Gallifreyian."

"Read Gallifreyian." She shook her head in repudiation. "I can't read it. Only Time Lords can and I'm not-"

"If you can't read it as you indicate, answer me this." He continued. "How were you able to read 'The History of the Time War'?"

She could feel her face flush in embarrassment. "No, I didn't! It was in English." She protested. "I only looked at it out of curiosity."

"Long enough to know my name." He said simply and she gasped in surprise. "There's a reason for that."

"You know that I know your name and the tenth Doctor-" She paused considering the weight of what she was about to say.

"Thinks you stole it. He found the name inside your mind."

It was an accident." Her voice was plaintive. "I never meant to see that page. But how could I read Gallifrey? It looked like English."

"There was a TARDIS, one among many that was sent to the void to die. In her last act of self sacrifice she poured her energy into you buffering you through the trip."

"Why me?"

"The link you and Donna share, you intercepted the Time Lord Consciousness when it became fragmented from Donna and lost in the void, it went to the nearest tear in your reality with the closest genetic makeup which is you Sara. Don't you remember the writing on the wall that day?"

"But I don't sound like-writing, you mean in the Tower of London?"

"It came to you and intercepted you like a magnet and the writing was Ancient Gallifreyian for my name."

"Why don't I remember any of this?"

"It's nestled deep in your subconscious protected by the TARDIS who gave her life for you recognizing that aspect deep in your mind." He explained.

"But I don't want it!" She seethed. "So everyone else in my universe died and I lived but for that?!" Sara was ranting. "To be locked inside by the Time Lord Victorious? I tried to prevent it and-"

"There was nothing you could of done." His eyes looked distant. "I was always meant to walk down that road because that's the point. You need to know how far you've fallen in order to climb out of the hole you dig for yourself."

"You're the Doctor." Sara looked at him with knowing recollection. "That means he'll find out without me." She felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she stared at her hands. "I don't want to do this, wake up to see him, feel so completely alone."

She was startled when one of her hands was taken gently enfolded into his own. "You ever realize what a singular wonder you are? How you looked me in the eye and told me how full of it I really was." He chuckled at her expression. "You see, I do remember that because you, unlike anyone else, stared me straight in the eye and was unafraid." He sighed. "You told me what I needed to here."

"But you didn't listen." She murmured.

"Who said I didn't?" He queried. "I'm listening now and I remember every word. That's why I'm here so you know I heard you all along but there is something I need to tell you."

"What?" She was struggling to cope with the presence of this Doctor not maligned by his darker aspects, who apparently moved forward not confounded by the prospect of being the last of his kind. _As far as he knows anyway. _Even in the landscape of her dreams, she was not chancing a paradox in his time stream by relaying information he didn't necessarily already have.

"If that version of the Doctor regenerates in the mindset of the Time Lord Victorious with nothing to pull him back, he will become the Valeyard."

She shook her head in refusal. "No, but you're here so that's a paradox…"

"No, I'm only a possibility, we are both merely dreaming in our current time frames. I had to deliver this warning to you."

She pulled her hand away, sinking her head into her arms. "For what?" She demanded. "You want me to fix it? Pull him back?" She felt herself shaking. "I don't know what you expect of me."

He took her shoulders holding them lightly and she met his gaze. "Nothing. I have asked too much of you already. Just follow your instincts." He grimaced. "That's something Time Lords never had but I trust yours completely." He affirmed gently.

"My instincts…" She repeated, trailing off as she thought back through all her failings of how her intuition had led her to this precise moment, caged and comatose in the TARDIS with a man she scarcely knew at the brink of his insanity.

"You need to trust them as well." He told her reassuringly. "The rest will come"

She swallowed hard. "So I have to wake up and go back to-" Sara couldn't finish the sentence.

His hold shifted to a simple comforting grasp of her hand. "The Doctor hasn't vanished, it's just buried and you should ask yourself, if he is truly gone, why didn't you die? Why did he save your life?"

"Bad timing?"

"I would disagree and say my timing was more then excellent that day. " He smiled. "That's something you need to realize on your own. I can't convince you."

She was silent as he stood up and began his retreat down the corridor. "Oh, and Sara?" He asked, turning his head to glance back.

"Yes?"

"You can't tell him about me. Not until he's regenerated."

"But why?" She asked. "You said this was just a dream and not-"

"I'm a chance and only that, which will disappear if he regenerates into the Valeyard." He stood firm and resolute. "He can't know of this conversation or it will impact your future. Remember my advice, trust your instincts; they will serve you well."

The edges of the dream were beginning to dissipate and the Eleventh Doctor's form was fading. Sara tried to reassert her grip onto the wall next to her to make her vision more substantial but it was becoming ephemeral, as dust and she knew she would soon be forced out of her reverie.

"So wonderfully human." She heard him say. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"I don't want to go." Sara said in protest to the vague image in front of her, wanting nothing more then to cling onto landscape of this illusion.

She could barely discern a smile. "Neither does he."

The words sank into her mind as she was propelled into consciousness, clinging to the scarce notion that some form of hope was readily available.

Sara was regaining consciousness after remaining fifty-six hours in a coma despite the temporary damage to her cerebral cortex having already healed one-day prior. The Doctor found that he had to force himself not to give into the temptation of telepathically entering her mind to compel her out of her stupor. He knew the TARDIS would disagree with such a reckless act but he was bordering on near desperation. _Humans can will themselves to die. _He shook his head looking at the girl whose movements were subtle at first, sluggish as her eyelids began to flicker.

He didn't lose her but it was a near miss and he couldn't afford to leave her unobserved as he had done again. The Doctor pondered this further complication as he double-checked the nanites in their progress of providing continuous hydration to her cells.

She had opened her eyes, staring at him fearfully as he approached her bedside, trying to voice words in protest. Her throat was dry, no sound emerged, her tongue feeling thick and swollen in her mouth.

"Don't panic." He advised her, removing a cup from his array of medical tools. "Just calm down." His tone took on a compelling edge, offering her the contents within the glass. She was starting to shake her head in refusal, eyeing him distrustfully and he sighed. "It's just ice for your throat." His statement was flat as he looked at her expectantly.

Finally she nodded but she couldn't help but shrink as he took her shoulders, lifting her marginally so she could swallow the ice, which trickled down her throat like a healing balm providing her entire mouth with much needed relief.

"Why didn't you let me die?" She whispered finally, the images of the dream still resonated in her mind. _'The Doctor isn't gone, he's just buried'…buried somewhere, how can I-_

He set her back down on the bed, examining her with a closeted expression. "You are still my responsibility.

"I no longer had to be." She looked at the ceiling blankly. "You could have-"

"No." His eyes riddled with anger and shock. "You think I would simply permit you to die?"

"Would solve your problems." Sara managed. "Being a greedy human like me, how can you stand it?"

"I believe I'll cope." He folded his arms across his chest, looking at her with determination, fathoming what safeguards he would have to put into place to prevent her self-destructive tendencies. _Difficult. _Would he be forced to observe each day or would he be compelled to confine her to a status field in sickbay until she no longer proved a threat to herself?

Both options rankled him deeply as he was forced to consider what humans needed to keep their will for survival intact.

"You'll cope." She repeated startling him from her thoughts. "Even though you think I stole your name?"

_How could she possibly-? _The Doctor was briefly astounded but was forced to admit that their past telepathic contacts would have a price. Likely in the depths of her subconscious, during her coma, she remembered fully all the information that was exchanged since he knew it wasn't merely one way. "I know you took it." He felt the fury of the violation creep over him again. "That book wasn't meant to be read and my name-"

"So take it back." She swallowed hard scarcely believing what she was going to allow but her dream had been accurate. She couldn't balance the scales with a simple argument about his violation of her but the one thing she was able to take was the higher ground. Her intuition told her this was the right course. '_Just follow your instincts.' _The notion still sickened her that she would permit not only his intrusion into her mind but also an act so similar to what he performed on Donna. She took a deep breath trying to steady herself. _Maybe it won't hurt. _Somehow she doubted it seeing as her memory being seared away would without question leave a scar. "Just please…" She trembled, lowering her gaze. "Make it quick."

"You would allow me to…" His voice was incredulous as he stared at her in quiet astonishment. He had interpreted her act to one of greed and his logic told him that his name could only be extricated by force but here she was offering him consent to go into her mind and purge it from her.

"It was an accident." She started to explain picturing the incident quite vividly in her mind. "I saw the book in a show." She shook her head. "Had no idea if I could read it and I was curious. I wish I didn't." She gave a sigh. "I swore to keep it to myself but…"

"Curious." He repeated remembering when he found her in the library. She would have had to pass right by the volume so her inquisitive nature played a part when she stopped to leaf through the pages. "Someone else read from that book." He realized when she made a reference to seeing it on 'the show'. "Who?"

"No one you've met yet." She said honestly. "Please, it would be a paradox and-"

"Fine." His tone was abrupt as he considered his options. Sara's knowledge of his name was accidental and she didn't appear to care for the burden. He would carefully stow the book away so no other could find it. Sara gave a slight cringe as he lifted his hands to place them against her forehead but didn't refuse the contact. A tear streamed down her face as her expression turned to one of a silent plea. "Just, please, no pain if you can help it."

He was frozen probing his telepathic bond with the TARDIS, which seemed to offer no objections and why would she now since Sara consented? But as he began delving into the outskirts of her mind, he could feel Sara's hesitation and her fear. He was also riddled with the pain she endured and with all her thoughts melding into his own, those moments leading up to her losing consciousness inside her room. The memory of her delirium played out before his eyes as she laid helplessly in bed as shadows stretched across the room preparing to claim her. He felt her agony as she begged the TARDIS to let her die; attempting to console the sentience she was merely in the way. Then he sensed her final wish for forgiveness and he knew right then, that he couldn't carry forward and burn even that solitary memory away.

The Doctor took his hands off her forehead only to look her in the eyes as she met his gaze in befuddlement and he began to feel desolate inside.

"I'm sorry." He managed to mutter to her before he turned and left the sickbay unable to speak further, leaving Sara to only watch him perplexed.

It was a slight step but she wondered whether it was truly significant enough to warrant the change he needed. In her weakened and lethargic state, she didn't know what to be certain of anymore. "We're both so lost." She murmured aloud to herself.

"And yet you are found." A voice said softly above her.

Sara gasped, seeing the very image of the woman who visited Wilfred during 'The End of Time' appear right before her and then dissipate from view directly in front of her eyes.

**A/N: Thanks to AmberLovelyLight and my Beta Fan Fictional Authoress for their inspiration and help in the editing process. Thank you for all your reviews and your inspiration **


	18. Ascent

The Doctor had been swift to activate the stasis field, leaving Sara in the surgical web momentarily convinced with that measure enacted, she would not be able to leave the bed of her own accord. Her fear, desolation and grief that were present even just skirting the outskirts of her mind were too much for the Time Lord to bear.

He questioned himself and when he was first alerted of the girl's presence he felt it was his right to claim her. How many people had jumped at the mere prospect of being his companion but this prize held no significant value to her. He then felt the agony in her mind as she was faced with the grief that she lost every single person she ever loved and he couldn't stomach the emotional turmoil. He was duly exhausted after tending to Sara for two days straight making an absolute certainty she survived her self-induced coma. He had been hard pressed to fight against her depletion of her lack of will to survive but his endeavor in the end had succeeded. So much of Sara remained a mystery to him and he had come too far to lose her now.

But it was her second suicide attempt and measures had to be taken. For the next two days he was content to confine her to the stasis field where she wouldn't be able to disrupt the treatment he had already set in place.

Of course, she started to scream when Sara found out her limited confines of movement in such a space, begging him profusely to lower the restraint, which he promptly denied.

He thought she might have shown him the smallest sign of gratitude for not tampering with her memories by removing his name, leaving it in place out of a lingering sense of grudging respect.

She had tried to plead with him as he started to turn his back on her to leave the room. "Please, don't!" Her voice was filled with desperation. "I didn't mean to run. I was just so scared. You can't leave me here!"

He turned to her coldly, examining the volatile human in front of him. "I cannot be with you twenty four hours a day and you've proven unable to take care of yourself." He paused as she attempted to press against the shield. "Until I'm sure you can, you will remain here." This was her second suicide attempt and he was hardly chancing a third.

"No!" Tears sprung to her eyes. "Just give me a chance and-"

"You already had plenty." He left the room with Sara shrieking in protest at his swift departure.

The door closed behind him and Sara collapsed onto the bed with the turmoil she was unable to conceal coursing through her like agony. Unable to move except for a few inches in each direction, she curled into herself. "I just didn't want to be alone." She whispered. "Please God, I'm sorry, whatever I've done. Why are You doing this to me? Why can't he just let me go?"

"Because he needs you." The voice sounded in front of her. It was the woman again, dark hair, compassionate eyes with strange marks on her hands that became more apparent as she moved forward to Sara's bed.

"Needs me?" Sara was hesitant. "Who are you?" It was often speculated as to her true identity within her now non-existent universe but the actual identity was never revealed.

"I am here to answer the call."

"Why me?" She stammered. "I mean, you should see Wilfred, not-"

"You are both the dreamers. "The woman paused. "He'll need to take arms to survive what is to come."

Sara shook her head. "Have you any idea what he has become?" Her disgust was plain. "Do you even know of what he's done to me?"

"There is far worst on the horizon." The woman paused. "You have seen the Time Lord Victorious. You have not seen the Valeyard."

"But he'll become-"

"Focus on what is. One moment in time. Heed the call from the Oods, they are waiting your presence."

"Me?"

"Especially you." She leaned down to whisper. "He can find himself too, have patience." She started to fade away as Sara sought to hear the voice dissipating with the woman's presence.

"Remember your intuition is your best defense for what is to come." The seer advised her the faintest trace of a smile as she disappeared from view leaving Sara to feel more utterly alone then she ever had before.

It was a rare occasion that the Doctor slept and when he did, his dreams were usually filled with home. On this occasion, the dream was pleasant, having returned to Renaissance England, noticing a lovely woman with prominent ginger hair in regal attire turn to him with a smile.

_My wife for a day. _He moved in to embrace her as she stared at him with complete adoration. Ready to offer her a welcome snog, he was taken aback to suddenly being served with a punch in the face.

He pulled back in shock and in front of his very eyes, the Queen underwent a slow change, her features turning to that of a man he had never seen before. Light brown hair, wearing a bow tie, but this stranger stared at the Doctor with unconcealed disgust.

"Oi!" He touched his nose, checking for blood. "What did you do that for?" He paused appraising the man in front of him. "Who are you?" He asked darkly. "I was just having a good dream and you spoiled it!"

The man only stared at him with utter concept as he swung his fist back to take another punch. "Ok." The Doctor raised his hands trying to appeal to this new threat. "Let's be reasonable. Why are you attacking me?"

The man was silent and the Doctor shook his head. "Not answering? How are you able to get inside my mind like this?" He scowled. "Attacking someone in their dreams is cheating. Are you some kind of coward?" He challenged.

"You have no idea." The man finally uttered.

"You have any idea what you're risking by attacking a Time Lord in his dreams?" The Doctor sneered. "What you're unleashing?"

Suddenly he was thrown against a tree and before he could move, vines wrapped around him binding him to the trunk.

"What?!" The Doctor sputtered. "How were you able to do that? " His voice was sinister as he glared at the stranger in front of him.

The man gazed at him with eyes that appeared even more ancient then the Doctor's and his expression held such terror as the Doctor never witnessed.

"Who are you?" The Doctor protested. "What do you want?"

The stranger started to walk away as the Doctor thrashed in his bindings and in desperation called out to the man.

"Wait!" He protested. "Please don't leave me here. Whatever you're angry about, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it!" _What could he possibly want?_

The man turned to him and suddenly Sara's voice could be heard all around him, like a distant echo. "Please don't! I didn't mean to run. I was just so scared!" Her panic was evident. "Don't leave me here." Her cries continued until her voice broke and then he couldn't understand a word.

"This is over her?" The Doctor said slowly. "Just a human?"

A vision formed right in front of his eyes as Sara Jane glared at him in distaste. "I'm human."

The Doctor shook his head. "How are you doing this?"

The man only smiled as he watched Sara Jane who with a measure of revulsion removed the TARDIS key from around her neck and tossed it to him on the ground.

"No, Sara Jane, wait!" He pleaded but she already disappeared.

Suddenly he saw all his companions who approached him with an attitude of disapproval. Martha approached him dangling her key in front of him. "And to think I fancied you." She tossed it on the ground followed by each and every one of the TARDIS's prior passengers, all turning their backs in rejection.

With a surge of desperation, he pushed the images of his companions from his mind and addressed the stranger in front of him. "What would you have me do?" He demanded. "She's dangerous. The wrong person gets a hold of her and she could erase existence." He sighed. "I have to keep her, protect her and she won't stay willingly. There is no other choice."

"Doctor?"

He turned to see Rose appear before him. The dream had become a nightmare, as she looked around perplexed.

"Please," he asked his adversary. "Don't do this. Not her."

"Doctor, how did I get here?" She started yanking at the vines that bound him and finally they started to loosen.

"What do you mean?"

"I was shopping with Mum. Going to meet you on our lunch break, if I could manage to pry you away from the baby TARDIS but suddenly I was here."

"It's you!" The Doctor exclaimed as tears suddenly came to his eyes. "I don't know how but it's really you." He held her close against his chest.

"Doctor?" Understanding started to dawn on her features as she placed a hand on his chest to detect the two heartbeats. "You're the other Doctor." She lovingly gripped him tighter.

"I'm him." The Doctor answered with a smile.

"No he's not." The man countered.

Rose looked at him befuddled. "Wha?"

"That is not your Doctor Rose."

"Wait." The Doctor tried to intercede. "How did you bring her mind here?"

The man promptly ignored the question giving a slight nod to his head and suddenly, the three of them were standing in front of Adelaide's house. This time, the Doctor was watching himself through Sara's eyes feeling all her fear, her grief and the horror of witnessing the emergence of the Time Lord Victorious as she started to pick up the gun.

"This isn't real." The Doctor demanded.

"It's inside her head."

The trio watched as Sara raised the weapon, feeling all her fear, her indecision and finally her resignation as she started to lower the gun. They saw as she begged Adelaide for forgiveness, feeling her start to tremor inside. When Adelaide rushed Sara and the weapon went off, she fled away from the Doctor, terrified by his inhuman cry.

They ran with her, swam through the freezing cold temperatures and started to feel her hope of obtaining her freedom. Then they watched the Doctor squelch that that small desire as he emerged from the shadows and violently wrestled her to the ground.

The Doctor could only watch as horror crossed Rose's face when she watched him violently force himself into Sara's mind.

"No," Rose gazed up at the Doctor in refusal. "That can't be real." But she paused when the Doctor didn't answer. "Oh God, did you do that?"

Incapable of lying to her, he nodded reluctantly. The scene shifted to just outside Sara's room. "You'd better get used to it, Sara." The apparition of his double spoke. "This is your home for the next sixty years."

"No." Rose shook her head. "The Doctor would never do that." He could see tears forming in Rose's eyes. "My Doctor would help her. He'd show mercy and rescue her."

"Rose," The Doctor tried to say reassuringly but she took a step back.

"No!" She glared at him. "You let her go. You let her go right now!"

The Doctor was staring at Rose and then finally looked down. "No." He said firmly.

Rose's demeanor faltered and she frowned at him, looking utterly resigned. "He's right," He voice started to break. "You're not the Doctor."

He took a step towards her but she disappeared and the Doctor let out an anguished howl. "No!" This would be her last memory of him and for all his control over time, he couldn't fix this. He turned on the man savagely. "What's the point?" He demanded. "I can't let Sara go." He folded his arms across his chest. "I can't risk the lives of the entire universe for one human." He was grim as he sought to regain his control. "So you can take your telepathy and shove it where…"

"You don't have to be cruel." The man stated simply.

The Doctor stared at him perplexed.

The stranger sighed. "Save the universe and protect a dangerous weapon. Travel the universe with Sara in tow, fine. Stop being cruel. Stop being cowardly. Just stop."

The Doctor refused to be moved. "I did what was necessary."

"Oh really?" The man asked sarcastically, leaning forward, his green eyes leveled straight at him. "What would you have done, if anyone did that to Rose?"

Suddenly, they were in the woods again but this time, Rose had taken Sara's place.

"No!" The Doctor protested. "Stop it!" But the man had disappeared, leaving him to watch the scene unfold.

When his apparition came and seized Rose, forcing her to the ground, the Doctor became unhinged trying his best to wrestle away his own double from the woman he loved.

The Eleventh Doctor remained as an invisible but steady observer as his previous incarnation attempted to fight his own memory. The tenth Doctor wouldn't know that Rose was simply a creation from the Eleventh Doctor's mind and the dream would haunt his younger self until he regenerated. He gave one last look at the Time Lord Victorious, feeling a wave of disgust come over him. His predecesor had earned this, deserved it and with a small sense of satisfaction, he pulled himself from his past self's mind and left. 

The Doctor woke in panic to the distinct sound of his real name being used. For a moment, he thought Sara had broken free from the confines of the stasis field but then he saw the real identity of the person standing over him. _No. She's been dead for centuries. _He shook his head to clear the image from his mind but she still remained present as an ever-vigilant reminder of his life on Gallifrey.

"Why are you here?" He managed to ask. _Am I still dreaming? _Whoever had entered his mind had a disturbing amount of power and the impact the nightmare gave left him feeling haunted. The regret he felt at that moment was nothing he could not easily compel away no matter how much he tried to dismiss the emotion. _Am I really so lost? _

"The Ood are waiting." She stated simply. "You must heed the call."

He looked at her feeling the first inclinations of fear at the prospect of approaching the very species that told him that his song was ending. "No, there is still so much more that I can do! You can't-"

"The end of time approaches." She looked at him sorrowfully. "You must both hear the warning."

"Both?" He interpreted her glance as she looked in the direction of the sickbay. "Sara and I."

"I'm sorry." She replied, reaching out a hand in an effort to graze his cheek but her figure became translucent and ephemeral until it vanished into thin air.

The echoes of the dream still stayed prominently with him as he pondered who had the kind of power to invade his subconscious mind with such alacrity. The image of Rose and his apparition forcing her to the ground as he violated her with his mind caused him to groan with all the pain he was attempting to suppress.

He checked the internal sensors and realized he had slept for nearly over ten hours, a surprising length to him, a Time Lord who required so little sleep to survive. He had been induced into the trance state where he became more receptive to a dream and that same force had taken advantage, gaining entrance to his mind. _But who? _

In the meantime, the appearance that had followed his time asleep had made it known where he needed to venture next although her demand to bring Sara with him to the planet of the Ood gave him pause. He closed his eyes in contemplation remembering Sara's panic at being confined to the stasis chamber, hardly unable to move as he left her unable to cope with the emotional overload present in her mind.

It was guilt starting to prickle at him and he knew if Sara had been Rose, he would never have contemplated treated her in such a fashion. He would have been patient even if Rose had ran away initially terrified, he would have found means to reassure her and now he was faced with an imminent failure. Sara had put him in a very difficult position from the very beginning when she initially managed to elude him at the hotel where he found her. He never exerted a great deal of patience with her finding he had very little of it to begin with. _I can't rectify this. She must hate me._

Nevertheless he staggered to the sickbay where Sara apparently in her terror had finally given way to her exhaustion by sinking into slumber. For a while, he gazed down at her as she slept, the clear evidence of tears that had coursed her features remained and systematically he released the stasis field disengaging her from the intravenous infusion. They had more then accomplished their task and he verified that Sara was out of immediate danger from lapsing into a subsequent coma. Keeping her that way would require a great deal of consideration as he reflected on possible options he could utilize in cases such as these.

She was moaning in her sleep, not conscious but her tone exuded undue panic. "He's laughing already." She murmured. "He knows I'm here and I can't- I'm so tired, everything's lost, Doctor's vanished-they won't bring him back."

He remembered her cries as she begged for a second chance, admitting to her terror of him but her state right now reflected a greater anxiety and he put his fingers to her forehead and with only the faintest use of his psychic empathy field, he grazed the outside of her mind, promptly ending the nightmare. Her eyes started to flutter open meeting his with a look of dread that for the first time seemed somewhat misplaced.

She started to mumble to him somewhat incoherently. "He's laughing, I can hear him. Laughing at me. He knows. Oh God he knows."

"Who knows?"

"The Master."

In his attempt to be reassuring he took her hand but just as quickly, she yanked it away. "Sara, the Master is dead. He never regenerated. It's just a dream."

"No." She shook her head adamantly. "He's returning, coming back. I know he sees me, senses me." She grimaced. The woman told me herself." She looked completely miserable. "I have no one else to talk to."

The vision he experienced had appeared to Sara as well confirming the fact that she would have a role to play. It was time to get the answers he needed and he offered his hand to Sara who looked at it as if she was being presented with a rattlesnake. "I removed the field. You need to come with me."

"Why?" Her voice was weary unwilling to extend him any inclination of trust since as far as she was concerned, he had done nothing to earn it.

"The things I did," He paused. "were because they were necessary. I can never make it right and I won't try."

"You're not sorry?"

"I did what I had to do."

She grimaced and looked away. "I thought maybe, just for a moment you had actual remorse but I was wrong. You are more the Valeyard then ever and-"

"Sara, I am not the Valeyard. Believe me when I say, you have no conception of what that is nor would you ever want to know. I had to keep you and the universe safe." He shook his head. "You have no idea how dangerous you are in the wrong hands and-"

Sara stared at him incredulously. "You are the wrong hands!" She exclaimed. You could have let me die. Threat over. I certainly wanted it after what you did."

"I won't allow that to happen."

"Allow?" She sputtered. "It's my life to do what I wish."

"Not here it isn't."

She looked at him askance. "So I'm just a possession to you. A toy you're trying to figure how to wind up. Once you do, then what?"

"Sara, let's make this clear. You have Huon and Artron energy radiating inside your cells. You remember what those are?"

"Yes, so what?" She retaliated and the Doctor frowned at her.

"So what?" He repeated. The time it took to isolate the differing particles flooding her molecular structure had been considerable and she was still emanating a strange energy signature he couldn't identify. "You're too dang-"

"Adjust a bio dampner. You did that for Donna and I don't remember you locking her in the TARDIS for having Huon particles."

"The quantities she had are nothing in comparison to yours and you know that didn't work."

"Make it work, improve on the design. You could have given me fake Id, identification so long ago and no one would be the wiser. I could live a normal life." She was shaking. "That was all I wanted; a family, children, my career…doesn't that mean anything to you, Doctor?"

His gaze was firm. "A normal life, Sara?" He queried. "But you're not normal and no amount of paperwork would hide that since certain species will be able to detect you and use you. I kept you with me to ensure your protection and-"

"And what, violating my mind was due process?" She demanded. "Christina's death was an acceptable loss?" She rolled her eyes. "Oh, that's right. It's my fault isn't it? That's exactly what you told me."

He was silent unable to contemplate how to counter this as he stared at the human before him. In so many aspects, she had been broken, nearly given up on life. He felt the tremors of guilt inside him but he wouldn't allow himself to express it. She would never forgive him and his decision remained firm. He could never let her go.

_Don't be cowardly. Don't be cruel._

"One planet Sara." He promised. "You can go outside, take some air. The Ood population is harmless."

It was some mere consolation he could offer her as she met his gaze startled. "You said I couldn't leave-"

"Your presence has been requested."

Sara propped herself up on her elbows, pushing herself off the bed and onto her feet however her gait proved unsteady. Sara could feel herself sinking to the ground, her legs unable to support her weight. He instantly gripped her arms, holding her upright but his assistance was met with a look of disdain in her eyes. "I'm fine." Her voice was flat as she tried to pull away. "I just need a minute."

"You were in a coma." He corrected her. "Lethargy and muscle atrophy are to be expected so-"

"I'm _fine_!" She seethed. "You're the one that imprisoned me in that thing so I couldn't move. You really think I want your help now?"

Obstinate to her own detriment.He looked at her coolly. "It doesn't matter what you want." His voice was firm. "You can't leave here without me and it's a minor concession."

"The last time I made a deal with you-"

_Enough. _"I don't have time for this." He gazed at her fixedly. "Accept my assistance or I'll carry you outside." He raised his eyebrows. "What will it be?"

She glared at him. _Fresh air be damned. _"I already know what they'll say." Sara shook her head. "Have your little visit by yourself and make sure to brag how you despoiled the 'Virgin Queen'. So much for history right Doctor?"

He could feel her fury come off of her in waves that allowed her anger to overwhelm her terror. It was a self defense mechanism, he had come to realize to help ground her and keep her in control but at the moment his patience was wearing extremely thin.

Without further word, he lifted her from the ground to convey her to the console room. She shrieked in indignation but her weakened state rendered her struggle against him futile as he carried her to the jump seat and placed her in the chair. _I warned her. _He had tried to exert what little tolerance he was able to at the moment but she had been utterly stubborn and now she looked upon him with an expression of betrayal.

He grit his teeth, glancing away towards the controls feeling the distant pangs of guilt residing in his consciousness. _What if it was Rose? _Oh, the dream had terrified him and now as he looked at Sara, a part of him would see an image of Rose in her stead. He could hardly consider the possibility of trapping Rose beneath a stasis field, leaving her to scream in agony as he turned his back, deserting her.

_No! You let her go. You let her go right now!_

He swallowed. That is what Rose demanded and he could remember the disgust plainly on her face as he adamantly refused.

"Why don't you take your name back?" Sara muttered as he turned to her with a look of surprise. "I don't want it. Never did."

He shuddered briefly at the prospect of experiencing the vast array of emotions lying inside Sara's mind and he knew at that moment with the nightmare at the forefront of his thoughts, he wouldn't be able to exact the control he needed for the task of removing that memory.

"You shouldn't have gone looking." It was a poor excuse and he knew it but he had to come up with a reason for his sudden aversion.

"Looking?" She repeated. "You think I actually went searching for your name?" She folded her arms across her chest. "That I asked the TARDIS for a book called "Time Lord Names for Dummies?" It was completely ludicrous that he would think she would want to give reasons for more people to hunt her down, least of all him who thought she had greedily stolen it. "You had the book on a pedestal. It practically had a glaring sign saying 'please look here'. " Her eyes burned into his. "Did you have any idea how scared I was, trapped with nowhere to go? You took everything from me and I didn't even know what I was doing." She swallowed feeling a lump starting to form in her throat. "I was so alone. Everything was gone and I…"

Her voice trailed off and she frantically pressed her hand to her eyes to avoid the tears that were threatening to emerge. _No. Not in front of him. I refuse. _Her breath was hitching in her chest as she focused her gaze on her knees hoping to regain control of herself once more.

She felt her hand be taken and she glanced to see that is expression had softened imperceptibly. "I know." His answer was far from an apology but she saw in his veiled eyes the seeds of understanding before he released her and returned to the navigational system. She was forced to endure another jarring ride until finally the TARDIS went through the dematerialization procedure and the ship seemed to settle beneath her feet.

He turned to her offering her his hand, waiting impatiently.

"So this is not some big favor your doing?" She asked and then put up her hand as he started to reply. "No, don't bother answering. I know she said I should be there and I know why." She stared blankly at the console. "You never heard their song when you tackled me in Hyde Park but I did. Every single note and now you're demanding my help."

_Heard their song? _He pondered whether the flux in her cellular membranes combined with her experience on Mars was contributing to a hallucinatory event. Regardless, he didn't have time to explore it at the moment.

"I'm giving you an opportunity, yes."

"And what then? You'll lock me in my room again?"

He examined her closely. "I made a mistake. I'm not inclined to repeat it."

It was likely as close to an apology as she would ever receive and she reluctantly took his proffered hand as he helped her to feet and outside the TARDIS door.

The light of the sun struck her intensely and she was nearly blinded, as she squinted and attempted to look down away from the glaring light. She closed her eyes trying to adjust herself to the illumination the sun provided since the days she had spent locked in her room and in sickbay caused the brightness to act as a physical pain. They slowly approached the group of aliens that was awaiting their presence.

She had only seen them in visions, speaking in riddles but here they were in person, staring back at her with a look of expectation. An awkward silence permeated the air and Sara for the first time was uncertain of what to say. The Doctor suddenly broke the ice.

"Ah! Now! Sorry!" He shoved one of his hands into his pockets. "So where were we? We are summoned, weren't we?" He released her hand and paced around the Oods with an air of superiority. "Well, I didn't exactly come straight here. Had a bit of fun, you know. Traveled about, did this and that. Get into trouble, you know me. It was brilliant. Just happened to get married." He shook his head. "That was a mistake. Good Queen Bess, and let me tell you her nickname is no longer…" He trailed off as Sara gave him a look of disgust. "Anyway, what do you want?"

The Odd responded critically. "Neither of you should have delayed."

Sara held out her hands in mock surrender. "It wasn't my fault." He protested. "He locked me in my room while he had his _fun_."

The Doctor glanced at Sara before responding to the Oods. "Well, the last time I was here, I was told my song would be ending. I'm in no hurry for that."

"You will both come with me." The Ood commanded.

"Why me?" Sara retaliated. "I shouldn't have to be here at all. I don't know why you've been appearing to me in the first place."

The Doctor turned to analyze her critically. "Appearing to you?" He repeated. "For how long?" He could denote a one time occurrence as a hallucination but given the way she spoke inferred she had been visited multiple times.

Sara met his gaze and slowly shook her heat, folding her arms across her chest giving him nothing but silence in response. _Wouldn't you like to know?_

"Sara…" He said warningly.

"What are you going to do that you haven't already done? " She challenged. "Shove my face in the dirt and violate my mind again?" She paused. "Lock me in a stasis field?" She swallowed. "There's nothing more you could do to me worse then you have already done!"

"I did what I had to-"

"Really." Sara said bitterly. "Would you have done that to Rose?"

Sara was suddenly taken aback as he suddenly gripped her shoulders looking her straight into the eyes. "Why did you say that just now?" He was bordering on panic.

"Doctor-"

"No!" His voice had intensified. "What did you do?"

She was shaking now as he stared her down and she shook her head frantically. "Nothing!" She protested. "It just popped into my head. That's all, I swear." The Doctor examined her panic stricken features, taking note that her body cringed in dread at his apparent reaction. He didn't detect any deceit in the tone of her voice and he attempted to regain his sense of control. Why would he even consider that a mere human would have the kind of power to invade his thoughts? It was hardly a rational conclusion but the statement she made hit so close to the nightmare that now resided in his consciousness, he reacted without thinking. He gritted his teeth to regain his control.

He released Sara who stumbled back away from him and he closed his eyes briefly in utter frustration. He needed to reign in all his emotions if he was to face this upcoming threat and the Ood's were in apparent agreement that Sara needed to accompany him. His half measures of patience were not working so further recourse was needed.

The Oods were waiting patiently as their strife continued to perpetuate between both the Doctor and Sara until they both met their tempered gazes.

"Lead the way." The Doctor finally said, taking Sara's hand helping her through the snowdrifts that obscured their path.

"So how old are you now, Ood Sigma?" He inquired of the Ood that had first addressed them but became subsequently distracted as he observed the massive city up ahead composed entirely of stone and ice, which Sara had to admit was a wonder to behold.

"That's beautiful." Sara couldn't help but be dazzled by the amazing feat in architecture.

The Doctor was surprised at her admittance as he nodded in her appraisal of the sight. "It's magnificent. Splendid really. How long did it take you to build this?"

"One hundred years."

The Doctor grimaced, looking troubled. "Then we've got a problem because all this is happening way too fast. Something is accelerating your species way beyond normal."

"And you've been calling me back in Paris and in-" Sara started to interject.

"Wait, in Paris?" The Doctor inquired. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Thought it was a delusion."

"A delusion." He repeated.

"I thought you were a nightmare at the time. Unfortunately, I was wrong." She glanced away. "But after Mars, you didn't even hear them and-"

"And the mind of the Ood are troubled." Ood Sigma finished.

The Doctor looked at the Ood. "Why? What's happened?"

"Every night, we have bad dreams."

They entered into an ice cave, which gave way to a small, darkly lit chamber where several Ood were gathered around a small table. A censer burned in the middle that released a waft of smoke with a strange smell that Sara couldn't identify but gave her strange sense of calm.

In the circle, the Ood that appeared to be the elder spoke. "Through the dark and the fire and the blood, always returning, returning to this world. It is returning and he is returning and they are returning, but too late, too late, far too late, he is come."

"The Master." Sara whispered.

The Doctor seemed impatient. "He's dead, I told you-"

"No, they'll use Lucy Saxon to bring him back and-"

"Lucy Saxon?" He frowned. "What would she have to do with this?"

"You can save her." Sara persisted. "You can try. You left her to rot in prison for shooting her husband but-"

Ood-Sigma interrupted them both. "Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming. You both must see the vision."

She sighed reluctantly and sat with the Doctor in the circle of the Ood as they chanted in rhythm. "You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join."

She was hesitant in participating in what appeared to be a vision quest where she was forced to share her mind and have her thoughts open to all those that were present. It seemed tremendously invasive to her after what she had endured so far and she wanted nothing more to refuse. The Doctor had seemed wholly surprised by the visits of the telepathic race and she knew his suspicions of her would elevate. _How could it possibly be worse? _He should know by now that her regard and her ability to trust him was virtually non-existent.

He took her hand with question or comment and she gritted her teeth. _The sooner this is over, he can find out about the Master and this ordeal will be over. _Although, she wondered what would occur when they got back to the TARDIS, whether he would confine her back inside the sickbay once she had served her usefulness.

When the Ood to her left took her other hand, a barrage of images sifted through her mind suddenly overwhelming her. She saw a great city in flames formed of crystal and stone encapsulated in a glass dome. The seasons seemed to literally rush by as the city began to decay right before her eyes only to have time rush backwards in the opposing direction as it reformed in its original splendor. Internally, she recognized this place and a part of her knew this location beckoned to her as a home.

She was standing near a chasm as children began to approach and were compelled to look down into its depths as a form of trial. From the expressions on their faces, she herself was terrified but strangely drawn to look at what lay just beneath her feet. When she did, she saw a pit of velvety darkness with mere flecks of white light that chaotically moved about and seemed to consume on the very earth that surrounded it. Sara knew with utmost certainty that what lay inside this chasm was observing her with utmost glee and she knew that the presence inside had the ability to see into her very soul. One boy approached near to where she stood, looking down into the darkness and she watched as his face filled with equal amounts of pain and terror. He fled almost immediately as Sara watched, shaking her head feeling a strange sense of pity.

When the next child was brought forward and he peered into the chasm, she could almost feel the agony as the presence that lay beneath seared through his mind leaving a pounding rhythm in its place that he couldn't escape. The boy was screaming, clutching his head while the others that stood in watch not lifting a finger to ease his pain. She heard their whispers quite clearly. The Untempered Schism had exposed the boy's madness while the child protested the sound in his mind was all too real. She wanted to convince those who stood in judgment that the pounding did exist because she heard it too. It would decay at the boy's mind just as the city would deteriorate over time, decomposing into the very emptiness of space.

The vision seemed to dissipate evolving to that where she clearly saw the Master laughing psychotically and she felt her insides clench as the insidious chuckling ceased for a moment as his eyes focused directly on her. He seemed to be staring directly through Sara and she wanted nothing more then to look away because his gaze gave her the same invariable chill she felt when seeing the Valeyard in her nightmares.

Right then she wanted to break away from the circle and have the images she saw to stop perpetrating her mind but the Doctor and the Ood had too firm a grasp on her hands. The Doctor sensing her distress turned to her and whispered, "Deep breaths. Just relax and picture doors closing inside your mind. Put the images behind those doors."

She recognized the advice similar as to the counsel he gave to Reinette but Sara only thought that worked with her memories that she wished to remain hidden and not the contrary where there was an incoming onslaught of visions. She attempted to steady herself and create the illusions as he suggested, which to her surprise eased the torrent on her mind.

The Master still remained a sinister image in her mind regardless of the barriers she tried to impose against him.

"He comes to us every night. I think all the people of the universe dream of him now." The Elder Ood murmured.

"Impossible." The Doctor stated directly. "That man is dead."

"There is yet more to come. Join us. Events are taking shape. So many years ago, and yet changing the now. There is a man."

The laughter started again as Sara saw his face clearly pressing against the edges of her mind and then superimposed was Wilfred Noble who was struggling in the midst of his nightmares. _Why do I have to see this? _She already knew about Wilfred and that he alone on Earth remembered the contents of his dreams. She already knew the outcome or did she? She began to ponder why she was forced to take part in this at all.

A picture formed in her mind where she was faced with the child who had looked into the chasm and ran in terror from it. She was floating alongside as he headed through the immense corridor to be greeted by another boy several years his elder who addressed him by name. Sara's heart began to pound in recognition of the address as she watched the man he would become, running to steal the antiquated TARDIS and heard a voice in her mind echo "Stole a TARDIS, been running ever since." She saw the light once again in the Tower of London, drawing her forward, attempting to consume her and then a mass of golden particles enfolded her, creating a shield, speaking only in whispers that she struggled to understand but it came from such a distance. It recognized her and protected her till its dying moment from the emptiness that lay beyond, which was greedily trying to penetrate her body. A faint echo that managed to impart the impression of a gift as she lay motionless in the vaults of the Black Archive of UNIT as the shield coalesced, settling into her body leaving no visible trace behind.

Then she saw herself running in terror from the Doctor just as she visualized the boy who dashed away from the chasm in fear. He was deeply afraid and had carried that dread with him throughout his life, yet her breath hitched as she saw him on Mars rise up in his decision to suppress his lingering emotions so that he was no longer the one so frightened. Everyone would fear the Oncoming Storm, especially the Time Lord Victorious and if they were terrified, then he need not be.

_Was that the answer? He needs to face his own fear? _Sara pondered the thought but she had no idea how she would manage that let alone having him confront any emotion seemed to be an arduous task.

Distantly, she heard the voices surrounding her. "Lucy Saxon remembered. I held him in my arms. I burnt his body. The Master is dead." The Doctor was struggling with the conflict in the images he was being shown and Sara felt genuine sorrow for Lucy's predicament, being imprisoned for her husband's murder, left behind forgotten to absorb the burden for the year everyone had forgotten but she remembered.

"And yet you did not see?" The Ood inquired. The image of a woman picking up the Master's signet ring danced before their eyes.

The Doctor let out a gasp recognizing the ring instantly and yanked Sara up to her feet. "A part of him survived. We've got to go."

"But something more is happening Doctor." The Ood told him. "The Master is part of a greater design, because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark. The Ood have gained power to see through time, because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil, and these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future, and the present, and the past."

"What do you mean?"

"The end of time itself." Sara muttered at the same time as the Ood. The Doctor glanced down at her momentarily before pulling her out of the ice cave and in the direction of the TARDIS. She had difficulty catching her breath as she tried to maintain her sprint admitting only to herself that her stamina had been weakened during her rigors of self-deprivation. She was pulled through the door where she sank into the jump seat as the Doctor began to input commands into the navigational system. "You have to go earlier." She pleaded. "I've seen it already. You'll be late and Lucy will already be dead."

His expression became calculating as he rapidly input commands on the directional unit mainframe in order to accomplish the task while activating the dematerialization sequence. The ride was a turbulent one and she nearly fell out of her seat until it came to an abrupt end. Sara wondered whether she would ever get used to the sensation and how his companions ever did. She started to rise to her feet hoping only to glimpse and see if they made it in time so that Lucy Saxon could possibly survive.

She was taken by surprise when the Doctor suddenly took her wrist and she felt something cold and metallic click into place. "What are you doing?" She yanked her hand back to see a silver bracelet fastened in place as she glanced back at the Doctor suspiciously.

"Insurance." He answered flatly. He hoped it wouldn't be necessary but Sara had attempted to escape him far too many times for his taste. Her last suicide attempt ruled out the possibility of leaving her alone for an extended period of time and he hadn't lied to her when he informed her about not making the same mistake twice.

"I don't under-" Sara started to say but he was already pulling her outside and she could see the familiar outline of the prison as it arched towards the night sky. _Night. It's still night. We're not too late. _

She attempted to make her may forward as an explosion suddenly rocked the ground as she fell back stunned to see fire consume the entire building. "No," She gasped. "We have to help her." Sara said in desperation as she clambered to her feet moving forward. It was a ridiculous notion but the Master had survived and maybe if they just reached her in time…

"Sara, stop."

"She could still be alive." She wasn't thinking clearly as she headed towards the smoke filled entrance. _He just left her to rot in there. What was it all for? _Her journey towards the prison was suddenly cut drastically short as she felt a throbbing pulse emanate from her wrist springing through the rest of her body like an electrical current and she found herself collapsing to her knees, completely unable to move.

She glanced at the Doctor who appeared completely unsurprised by her sudden paralysis. In fact, he seemed readily satisfied by it as he approached her and she looked down at her wrist, recognizing the bracelet, realizing what the Doctor meant by 'insurance'.

She had only seen him use them once before in his previous regeneration to keep a Slitheen from escaping who had jokingly referred to it as 'dinner and bondage.' She felt a wave of disgust that the Doctor purposely used these manacles on her while people perished inside the prison leaving the one threat they came to stop alive. She was certain that she could smell him through the fiery haze and knew that even now he was watching them both with his new voracious appetite. The Doctor stared down at his ward pleased that the adjustments he made had succeeded as she cast him a withering glare. _Should have done this when she first tried to run. _He thought as he took her arm and attuned the settings while examining the perimeter. It certainly would have spared him a lot of trouble and now he could truly focus on the hunt without concern of her trying to escape. Now there was no where she could possible run.

**A/N: Thanks for your patience. Sorry, a lot of details to work through. Thank you to LovelyAmberLight for her inspiration and advice and Fan Fictionalal Authoress as my Beta. Also thank you to Christy-Flame for helping to inspire the dream sequence…although I couldn't use The Day of the Doctor being against canon, the prompt caused me to want to come up with something where Eleven took it out on Ten. Thank you for all your reviews. **


	19. Hunger

"You let them die." Sara accused flatly as she stared at the burning prison up ahead. She staggered to her feet as she felt the pressure on her wrist release her and she gazed up at the Doctor reproachfully.

"We were too late." He started to sniff the air up ahead. "A few seconds wouldn't have made a difference." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Neither would you by running in to your death."

"Why do you even care?" Sara demanded. "You said yourself 'I'm too dangerous to wander around unchecked.' I don't understand and you've never been bothered to explain." She shook her head. "To much time spent forcing yourself into my mind, I suppose."

"On Gallifrey, there is a law that makes you my responsibility and-"

"Gallifrey is gone." Sara interjected. "And you are the _Time Lord Victorious. _You said as the winner, the rules of time were yours." She rolled her eyes. "Guess you're not so convinced since you pick and choose which rules you like to follow."

"It's not up to me. With proper application, the energy inside you could either help save the universe or destroy it. That is your opportunity."

"Right." She said wearily, the smell of the flames was encroaching on her senses. "Look, if it's all the same, I'll wait inside the TARDIS and-"

"I'm afraid it's not all the same." The Doctor's tone was firm. "You nearly died and I have to keep my eye on you."

"So this is your answer?" Sara said holding up her bracelet.

"Keeps you from jumping off any further bridges, wouldn't you say?"

She glared at him. "Do you have any idea what that was like to be told my universe was gone as you pinned me against a railing?" She swallowed. "Did you think I would just accept it instantly? Be okay with the idea?"

He looked at her solemnly. "No, I didn't mean-" He paused. "It was never the way I wanted you to find out."

"That makes two of us." She then started to feel dizzy and put her hand to her head as she started to waver on the ground. Her skin started to glow again with the diffuse light she witnessed before. She blinked several times to clear the image and nearly stumbled. The Doctor suddenly gripped her arm. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Just dizzy. It's fine."

He examined her skeptically although her statement had a seed of truth in it. She was on an intravenous infusion and nanites that provided nutritional supplements to her cells. It wouldn't make up entirely for solid foods, which she desperately needed so he swore to be more proactive. She had lost a twenty pounds in the last few weeks, which she could scarcely afford and her pallid features suggested his need to rectify the situation urgently.

He removed his sonic and she flinched as he started to perform a scan. The Doctor concluded that her artron and huon energy readings were consistent with the previous readings. The unknown particle emanations were fluctuating in minor capacities but he'd more likely account her dizziness and lethargy to lack of nutrients from her self imposed starvation regimen.

"Let's go." He said abruptly pulling her away from the prison and down the street.

He quickly managed to locate an ATM and used his screwdriver to withdraw a healthy amount of pounds from the cash dispenser.

"Why steal cash like this?" Sara asked. "Why don't you just program a credit card like you were going to do for that passenger after you prevented the Titanic from crashing?"

"I don't like to carry currency." He replied shortly.

"Right. Okay, neither does half the world. Most of them use a VISA. Why not get with the program because stealing out of ATM's is just shady."

"I'm a time traveler." The Doctor replied. "With everywhere I go, why should I care?"

Sara closed her eyes briefly in response realizing the topic of petty theft wasn't even worth debating with a man who had manacled her to himself.

They had progressed deeper into London and she hadn't been paying attention to her location until she realized she was in Covent Gardens. Her mind flashed briefly on the very day Jessica and Sara had flown into the City. There was a lull between when they could check into their room and their actual arrival so they killed a couple hours in Covent Gardens to pass the time. A lump formed in her throat as she thought of her life then compared to her life now and she felt so distinctly broken at that moment. They had both tasted and bought a different variety of tea from one of the local shops needing the jolt of caffeine to stave off the jet lag.

Now that was gone entirely and regardless the passage of time, she felt she would always be in a state of perpetual mourning.

The Doctor noticed she paused, making a quick note of the expression on her face. "You all right?"

"How could I possibly be all right?" Sara asked bitterly looking around. Did that teashop that Jessica and Sara drank at even exist in this reality? She wasn't terribly sure at the moment since the Doctor never explained the finer points of parallel dimensions. "My friend and I came here the day before in my…" Her voice trailed off.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor remembered distinctly how he wished to not survive the destruction of Gallifrey and waking up in his Ninth Regeneration had been agonizing as he was forced to come to terms with what he did. He pondered for a moment if this was how Sara felt when he pulled her off the bridge and then saved her from the subsequent suicide attempt by dehydration. He grimaced. For a human, it was a physically agonizing way to die but he couldn't fault Sara on her determination. The clothes he had programmed the TARDIS to provide for her didn't even fit her anymore, hanging slack off her form.

Sara didn't comment at his apology but glanced at him as if to determine whether he was sincere.

"Do you actually mean it?" She asked.

"I was forced to destroy my own planet. What do you think?"

"I would do anything to go home again." She moved the bracelet up an down her wrist.

"Me too." He replied simply.

They walked further into Covent Gardens and down a small pathway before she turned to the Doctor out of curiosity. "What are we doing here?"

"Dinner." He replied.

She shook her head. "It's late."

"At 9:00 at night? I don't think so." He replied.

"I'm really not hungry." Her tone was empty.

"Suit yourself. Then we go back to the TARDIS and I put you under the stasis field again and infuse your system with nanites for the next twenty-four hours. Which will it be?" He asked, staring directly at her.

"Why does it matter when I eat?"

"Because you haven't consumed anything in well over a week and it's time you take in solid nutrients." He shrugged. "But I'm amenable. Stasis field or the restaurant. Your choice."

"Fine." She seethed. "The restaurant."

She wondered how he could have an appetite after just seeing a building blow up with so many people inside but then maybe their timing was off for a reason. On the show, the Doctor didn't arrive until several hours later, likely in the late morning or early afternoon. For being a time traveler, he seemed to have an uncertain grasp on getting his machine to deliver him at the correct locations and days of the year. Perhaps Lucy Saxon was always meant to die regardless of Sara's warning or good intentions.

They were seated without a demand for reservations and the Doctor wasn't required to use his psychic paper. The number of patrons visiting the restaurant was considerably low. Sara had never heard of Hawksmoor Seven Dials but she had only been in London for two days prior to her world being engulfed and she couldn't help but think back on that disastrous meal in Paris where he had taken her to help ease her mind from the obliteration of her universe. _That was a whopping success. _She still thought and wanted it to so desperately be a dream, taking the opportunity to run from him without forethought. It just became a repeated pattern, her desperate flight for independence and him knowing just where to find her.

"What is it like to regenerate?" She asked, feeling the question a fairly innocuous one. The point always confused since while the Doctor's claimed to be the same person with the same memories, some of the incarnations treated it like a tragedy.

Her question surprised him and he looked at her warily. "Why do you ask?"

"You told the Ood that they said your song was ending." She shrugged. "I never understood why regenerating was such a big deal except on my world, it meant a different actor but…" He was giving her a look of skepticism. She supposed he still found the concept of his life being used as entertainment a hard one to accept if indeed he actually believed it at all. For all she knew, he could have been humoring her.

"It's a big deal because it's very painful." He replied, reflecting on when he had to gather all the time energy from Rose, which prompted his last regeneration. His entire body felt like it was on fire but somehow he held it together for her until his change took place to try to give her a bit of an explanation. "Lindos get released into our system in preparation and-"

"Wait, what's a Lindo?" Sara interrupted.

"A Time Lord hormone." He explained. "They get released when my body experiences severe trauma that would be construed as fatal."

"Could Time Lords always regenerate?"

"No." He stated. "Our presence next to the Untempered Schism allowed us to form a triple helix DNA pattern when we go through the academy."

Her brow furrowed. "That was your initiation. You and the Master had to look into the tear in the fabric of reality."

"Let me guess." The Doctor said as there drinks were served. "The tele?"

She shrugged. "In part."

"In part?" He repeated. "What else."

"The Ood ritual." She replied and he looked at her startled. "I thought you knew. I didn't want to see it!" Sara shuddered briefly. "It was painful and I could swear, whatever was in that thing knew me."

"I'm sorry." He said quickly. "I should have been more careful with my thoughts. That was never intended for you to see." The human mind wasn't capable of handling the Untempered Schism but hearing Sara explain how she felt the presence inside gave him more possibilities to consider. It came as no wonder why she attempted to pull away from the circle since he, himself had ran from the rite he had been forced to participate in.

Sara was silent for a moment considering the information he presented to her. "So could everyone on your planet regenerate like you?"

He shook his head. "No, only Time Lords. In fact, I was born with one heart. Like you."

That was new to her but she hadn't watched Classic Dr. Who at all since her friends had informed her it was a waste of time. She was given relevant pieces of information as the series progressed but it didn't quite fill in all the blanks. At one point when she attempted to figure out a complex discrepancy with the show, one friend told her impatiently that, 'it's fiction and not to worry about it.'

If only she could see that person's face now. Nevertheless, she had heeded his advice until she found herself in this universe and then realized how significantly her presence and mistakes could damage what was set forth on TV.

"So, you just grew another one?" She asked frowning.

"Right, after my first regeneration." He explained.

"You said regenerating feels like dying. How is that?" She asked.

He quickly went through his memory of their conversation and felt perplexed. Admittedly to himself, regenerating did feel like dying and he had become rather attached to this particular version of himself but he never said that to Sara.

"Reading my mind again?" He asked.

Sara immediately realized her mistake being that he hadn't had his conversation yet with Wilfred to spur this confession about himself. She wondered at this point, whether the discussion in the café would even take place at all.

She gave a diffident shrug as the server arrived and took their order. Sara requested only the lentil soup feeling as though her stomach after several days of food deprivation wouldn't stand for anything richer then that.

"You tried to kill yourself." The Doctor said suddenly and she jerked her head up. "Even though you knew your universe was obliterated. Why?"

"You have to ask?" She muttered.

"Yes I do." He replied adamantly. "Because I don't understand how you survived the void space and all the particles you carry to know what repercussions your death would have on this reality."

"And that is all you care about." Sara answered bitterly. "I wanted to die because nothing remains for me here. Unlike you, I'm not afraid of it. Not anymore. What is there left to fear?"

"I gave you an opportunity," The Doctor said. "To see time and space-"

"My family and friends are gone." Her tone was hollow. "And you think I wanted to go traveling?" She glanced away. "I lost everyone I ever loved."

"So did I." His voice softened. "My family, my brother and all my children were gone with Gallifrey. Those were the choices I had to make."

She swallowed. "Your children." She repeated. "I didn't really know. You said you were a father…" Her voice trailed.

"Yes, I had eight at the time with my wife Patience. Three girls and five boys." His tone was wistful.

"Patience." Sara repeated. "Was she from Gallifrey?"

"Of course." His tone was abrupt. "Reproduction with another species-"

Sara shook her head. "Ok, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Their dished were served and Sara played with the bowl of soup in front of her.

"Was she-" She tried. "Did she-"

"Die?" The Doctor sighed. "Yes, but not in the Time War."

Sara's brow furrowed. _Why wasn't this in the episodes? _

"She was shot by a general during the cold war because he thought she was a threat. It was so fast; she didn't appear to have time to regenerate. I thought she was dead." He said bitterly. "Omega rescued her and she regenerated but he took her to the anti-matter universe and I was forced to make a choice. Eternal happiness with her in a fictional world or to return to stop Omega who intended to destroy all living things."

She glanced down. "I'm sorry." She hesitated questioning whether to bring up an event that was so tragic in her life. _But everyone I know is gone anyway. _Still, she remembered the grief it caused her when she found out the news only a few short years ago.

Focusing on her soup, she took a deep breath. "Four years ago, I was dating someone. It got very serious. He, well-" She cleared her throat. "He developed pancreatic cancer and it was terminal but he didn't tell me. I'm not sure why." She murmured only glancing up to see his eyes watching hers intently. "I went back to school for my fall semester and then I got the phone call." She swallowed hard. "I know it's not the same, but-"

He looked at her in surprise. Why would she think that a loss of life to her was not comparable? He reflected on how much time this one human had to come to grips with the loss of her universe. She had been erratic, willful and utterly determined to keep her independence even though that was completely out of the question. She had desperately sought control over her own life that she attempted to take her own to prove that point. Maybe it wasn't that simple. She had been locked away in a room that she thought she would be confined to for the rest of her life and had lost the will to live. When he found her and confined her to the stasis field, he thought he was demonstrating his vivid power over hers. He kept her there for two days and now in reflection, he realized it might have been a mistake. _She must have been terrified. _

"Of course it is." He said, his voice softening. "Grief is still grief regardless of how long we live." He glanced at her bowl of untouched soup. "You need to eat Sara."

"I'm just not feeling so great." She muttered. "Don't know if I can keep it down."

"You're not feeling well because you haven't consumed anything for several days. You're malnourished." He stated matter of fact. "Micronutrients and electrolytes will only assist and are used as an emergency intervention." He kept his voice low. "I don't need to invest in a more radical alternative, do I?" She looked up at him uneasily. "Because I'm not going to sit back and let you die."

She sighed, picking up the spoon, reluctantly taking the first bite of her meal and he nodded. "Much better."

"You didn't answer the question." She muttered.

"Which was?"

"How is regenerating like dying?"

He grimaced. "That is difficult to explain."

"Can you try?"

The Doctor honestly never had a companion that was entirely interested in the process. When he regenerated in front of Rose, she was in a state of panic believing he had been teleported off the ship and a Slitheen had taken his place. Perhaps he should have warned her before in case something like this would happen. She had been so frightened, that she actually attempted to physically shove him, demanding that the Doctor be returned to her. Sara had never really asked questions about anything before so if this was the start of her curiosity, no matter whether it was a considerably volatile topic at the moment, he would consider it a beginning.

"Time Lords undergo a complete physical and mental change which is why we can't retain the same form." He explained.

"But you used your hand to heal yourself before?"

"Depleted twice to create the metacrisis and the Doctor-Donna Time Lord consciousness." He said. "It was an exact genetic and DNA duplicate to the form I have presently which I was able to use it and discharge the rest of my regeneration energy. Still counts as a regeneration cycle."

"I know that part." She said simply, thinking of the Eleventh Doctor, in the Time of the Doctor as he counted down the number of bodies he previously occupied.

"Right." The Doctor said, not wishing to question this at the moment. "We can't regenerate into the exact same form because there is the genetic equivalent of bit errors in the DNA of our cells. So our physical form would change including appearance, mass, our apparent age and even our personality would be modified because the cells and chemistry in our brain would regenerate as well." He raked his hand over his hair. "Even though our very basic personality and memories would stay in tact, everything else would disappear and a new person would walk away so for me it's-"

"Like dying." Sara finished. "Like being reincarnated?"

"A mundane way to look at it but essentially accurate."

She frowned. "That does sound painful."

He allowed himself a small smile, this time a genuine one. "You have no idea."

"Were you always so afraid of it?" She asked.

"No. Not really. When I regenerated into my tenth version, I imprinted onto Rose…" He started to say.

"Excuse me, imprinted?" Sara asked wrinkling her nose. "Like in Twilight when Jacob imprinted onto-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" He barked at her. She jumped back slightly in her chair.

"Well, thank God for that at least." Sara murmured.

"Imprinting is not about romance. You can pick up aspects and traits from the person you made first contact with after your regeneration. With Rose, I happened to pick up a few nuances of her accent."

Sara thought quickly. The Eleventh Doctor had obviously imprinted onto Amy but their relationship was platonic and though they didn't speak quite the same, they shared a close friendship, which would explain why he hallucinated about her at the end of that regeneration. Some of his other regenerations occurred around men, namely Brigadier Alistair Gordon Leftbridge Stewart and the Doctor considered him one of his most trusted allies. Maybe Stephanie Meyer stole the concept of imprinting from the show somehow and distorted it in one of the most horrendous ways possible. However, in this reality, Twilight did exist so she must have garnered her information through other sources, maybe webpage speculation and gossip on the Doctor's behavior.

"Hey, sorry. I don't like the books either. Twilight used to be a perfectly decent word before that series came along."

The Doctor laughed and it wasn't sinister or filled with malice but a true and hearty laugh as Sara glanced up at him surprised. She had thought with his emotions, painstakingly suppressed, he had forgotten how to experience any aspect of true happiness.

His passenger appeared astonished by his sudden outburst and he pondered her for a moment. The last two trips he had forced her to accompany him on had ended up being a downright miserable experience but even with his newfound revelation regarding time, he might be able to take her somewhere enjoyable when they had finished here. The moon had one of the best amusement park in the future for which they could both unwind. There was also Earth's past; didn't he see her reading 'Jane Eyre'? He could take her to meet the Bronte sisters themselves and now with the bracelet set in place, he didn't need to worry about her running from him again. Eventually he just might be able to look upon her as a companion instead of a prisoner.

"I don't care for those books either." He told her aloud. "I can give you a selection of others to read you might like." If she liked classic novels, perhaps she would enjoy his favorites from Charles Dickens. Maybe a trip further back in time while the author was in London might be an enjoyable event. He would need to make sure he didn't end up in Cardiff again because crossing his own time stream would have disastrous implications for all of them.

She seemed surprised by the offer but said nothing as she continued to eat the soup hesitantly while he observed. She managed to finish the entire bowl but within a few minutes, her entire complex paled as she clutched her stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick." She murmured.

Instantly he was by her side helping her from her seat and to the bathroom, which was non-gender specific as she started to heave, vomiting everything she had just eaten into the toilet. It was a horrible sensation, feeling the acid churn in her stomach as the contents of the meal departed swiftly leaving a bad taste in her mouth. The Doctor had left her there momentarily and finally the agonizing sensation ceased as she fully collapsed on the floor clutching her chest, feeling the burning sensation all the way up her esophagus.

The floor was so nice and cool to her now flushed skin that she had no desire to move, so she took to lying there staring at the wallpaper decorated with multicolored fish. _Fish. Jessica kept fish as pets. _The agonizing emptiness hurt so terribly that she couldn't suppress the tears streaming down her face and the gut wrenching sobs that followed.

Hands touched her and she cringed instantly. "It's all right." The Doctor's voice said calmly as he partially lifted her to lean against him, using a cold cloth on her burning face.

"I'm sorry." Sara implored. "I'm sorry. The soup, I'm sorry. I tried." Would he restrain her again, force her into into a position where she couldn't move?

Briefly he was reminded of his own daughter when she had gotten ill at a young age and how much it terrified her the first time. He had found her once curled up on the floor, her arms wrapped around her stomach looking at him with terrified eyes.

"It's not your fault." He said, keeping his voice soft. "We'll just start small." He would have to program the food dispenser he now kept in the storage room to create a pill that would meet Sara's nutritional needs and would prove gentler on her stomach until she could consume more solid nutrients on her own. It was the only alternative at the moment since he considered it to be a mistake to put her on the nanite infusion again. In her considerable, volatile state, it was important to make progressive steps forward and Sara had made the attempt to comply with his rules.

So he simply held her close to him, feeling very much like a father once more until the girl's shaking finally dissipated and then offered her a glass of water he procured to cleanse the taste out of her mouth. "Are you okay to walk?" He asked knowing full well how Sara detested being carried.

"I think so." She answered hesitantly and he offered her his hand, which she reluctantly accepted.

Half supporting her, they made their way back to the TARDIS and leading her to the Type 40 food dispenser, he programmed the TARDIS to dispense a tablet that met a human's nutritional requirements for a twenty-four hour period. The pill it bestowed was light orange in color and given the components would make it far easier for Sara's system to digest.

He turned, offering it to her, which she looked at perplexed. "What is that?"

"Food dispensed micro nutrient pack, type forty for your species." He filled a glass of water as she looked at him blankly. "The something small. Take it." He ordered.

It seemed a better alternative then being strapped down in the sickbay so she tentatively received the tablet and swallowed it down with the glass of water he obtained. He nodded approvingly. "You should get some sleep." The Doctor said finally.

"But, the Master!" Sara replied. "He's out there and-"

"You're in no shape to accompany me."

She shook her head. "He's going to start eating people." She had a feeling of disgust pour through at her at the very idea.

"Eating people?"

"Yes, Lucy Saxon interrupted his full resurrection with a device." Sara frowned scrambling to remember. "So now he's always hungry and soon he'll start feeding on the homeless."

"Any idea where?" The Doctor asked, his gaze narrowing on her.

Sara shook her head. "Not sure. There's a lot of garbage, I think. A vendor there sells hamburgers and the Master is able to electrify people with lightening."

"He's burning up his own life force." The Doctor said in amazement as he looked grimly at Sara. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

She couldn't tell him yet the consequences of what would happen if they didn't. To see Rassilon return with the council bringing Gallifrey with it would bring about the Doctor's own demise. The Eleventh Doctor's warning had been so utterly clear. This Doctor wasn't ready to regenerate so if he could stop the Master before those events took place, this his regeneration could be postponed.

"I won't run if that's what you're asking." Sara replied.

"No." The Doctor glanced at her. "I just witnessed you regurgitating what little you ate."

"So you would just leave me on the TARDIS?" Sara asked warily.

"Mostly likely in the sleep room for the next six hours so you can-"

"No." Sara was adamant. "I spent enough time strapped to a bed. I don't need more."

He moved towards her, looking her straight in the eye. "I shouldn't of left you like that." He shrugged. "For what it's worth I'm sorry."

Sara almost felt inclined to believe him. "I don't want to be put to sleep for six hours. Please don't make me. I tried to follow your rules-"

"All right Sara." He sighed. "You can come but you need to stay with me and be careful."

He led them to the door and they walked outside as the Doctor started to sniff the air.

"Doctor?" Sara asked timidly.

She broke his chain of thought. "Yes, what?"

"If I promise, swear to God to you not to run, could you remove this?" She held out her bracelet that manacled her to him.

He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Sara. I simply don't trust you yet."

"But-"

"But nothing. You've tried to run from me three times. You nearly killed yourself a few days ago. Believe me when I'm saying I am giving you as much freedom as I can allow." The Doctor's voice was firm.

"With only ten feet." Sara protested.

"I extended the perimeter to fifteen. You are a danger to yourself." He said conclusively.

"I give you my word, I promise to God, I won't run from you." She looked at him pleadingly. He was nearly inclined to believe her since her faith in her deity must be of prime importance to her but he couldn't take a chance.

"I said no." His tone was adamant. "Maybe someday when I can believe you." He ventured.

Tears slipped down her face as she stared at the ground. "I'm sorry Sara. You are my responsibility and I need to keep you safe even if that means from yourself." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "I gave you your chance. You must show me that you can earn another."

"I only tried to kill myself because you said you were throwing me in solitary confinement for the rest of my life…" Sara echoed softly.

"And I was considerate enough to devise a leash so that mistake wouldn't have to be repeated. You're still just a child…"

"I'm twenty four. I'm a legal adult!" She was indignant.

He scoffed at her. "I'm over eleven hundred years old. Believe me Sara when I say you're just a child."

She scowled. "You told your other companions you were 950 years old."

He shook his head. "I lied."

"But why?"

"It's rude to ask someone their age. Especially someone as old as me." He sniffed around and took her hand. 'This way."

They emerged into a derelict field for which Sara could spot in the darkness, the homeless sleeping about, the smell of smoke and gasoline around her. There was one scent that stood out from all the rest; she had a hard time distinguishing it. An odor of crackling energy, burnished fumes and blood that throbbed in her ears. She could hear the beat already in her mind. It was like a heartbeat that steadily counted from 1 to 3.

"He's over there." Sara immediately pointed to a piece of canvas that she could scarcely see in the dark without thinking.

"How do you-" The Doctor paused as he took another whiff of the air. "Sara, can you smell him too?"

"I think so, maybe." She paused. "I don't know." Would the Doctor consider her even more dangerous then she was already? _I should really keep my mouth shut._

"Must be the artron particles infused in your cells that can differentiate a Time Lord from a human." He contemplated.

"Artron energy is in the TARDIS right?" She reflected on her dream with the Eleventh Doctor whom told her that a dying TARDIS had made it possible for her to cross the void but she was still pretty vague on the concept of what that encapsulated.

"It is a form of psionic and temporal particles that can be maser-modulated into thermal energy which is measured in atto-Omegas and then you see the crystalizing abilities-"

_I'm really sorry I asked. _Sara thought, tuning out. Maybe this is what he needed willing companions for, to pretend to be interested in the techno babble he would inevitably recite. _Did all the regenerations do this? _The Doctor's previous version seemed far more pragmatic and militaristic although she could attribute that from him emerging from the Time War. The Eleventh was given to similar chatter but at least when he lied, he was far more open about it and given to jest at his need to do so.

Dawn was starting to make it's hazy entrance into the sky as the fog bank from the Thames grew lighter with the impending sunlight. She began to wonder why she was so eager to volunteer for this venture at all but the Ood had stressed her importance as did the woman who visited her in sickbay. She knew the Master was one of the Doctor's oldest enemies but they had once been friends on Gallifrey until things went wrong. The untempered schism caused him to lose his senses and the Council of Gallifrey even had a hand in putting the sound of drums in his head.

Should she tell the Doctor that giving him some ample warning? She had made such a mess already from their previous excursions with information she revealed or didn't reveal that it was utterly perplexing as to what knowledge she could safely provide.

Screams pulled her out of her thoughts as the Doctor rushed forward and Sara attempted to keep up the pace not wishing to be rendered helpless. Then she saw the bodies right at her feet and felt herself starting to heave again from just the smell. There was rot and decay with the flesh still burning, some of it clinging on the bones themselves. It was sizzling right in front of her, the remains of human fat, pieces of organ that weren't consumed, and the skull was blackened, charred to a crisp. He had already started to feast and she couldn't help but to stare at the putrefying remains. _Oh God. Please no. Not this. _

Then she saw him, the Master swing high up into the air with cry of erratic glee. "Dinnertime!", before swooping down on another two men who screamed in agony as they are pulverized, flayed before Sara's eyes. She immediately backpedaled, her stomach churning. _I shouldn't of come. I shouldn't of come. _

The Doctor seemed unaware of her wavering stance as he sniffed again to ascertain the Master's position and then started to run straight through the piles of girders on the dockside. Sara reluctantly made a few steps forward to remain within the perimeter set forth but her nausea was quickly starting to overwhelm her. Thankfully, she had nothing left on her stomach to regurgitate and perhaps the Master wouldn't esteem her as eating material considering her present condition.

From the distance, she saw the Master's skeleton flash with vivid blue energy that raced through his entire body.

"Please, let me help you. You're burning up your own life force." The Doctor attempted to reason with him.

The Master apparently didn't heed his warning and ran off while the Doctor attempted to follow in pursuit and then she saw Wilfred there blocking the Doctor's path. Sara frowned examining the scene as it appeared the Master had simply vanished into thin air.

"Well hello there." Sara gasped, turning around seeing the Master closing the distance directly behind her. Immediately she took several steps back looking around for the Doctor. _Where is he? _"So you're the Doctor's new toy. " He sneered at her. "Has he wound you up yet, seen what makes you tick because," He sniffed the air around her, "I already know. I smell it on you, it's intoxicating and I love it." His laughter was manic and she shivered inching away from him.

"Oh, don't play so hard to get. We can be friends, you and I." He told her.

She swallowed attempting to make her voice fierce. "I don't make friends with psychopaths."

"Humans," He shook his head. "You're so picky. Lucy enjoyed my company well enough and-"

"You manipulated her and she was left to rot in prison for your murder." Sara said with disgust.

"Know so much already and I don't even know your name."

She glared at him. "I'm nothing and no one to you."

"Who smells just like home, with the right mix of time and something extra. Oh, it is invigorating." He chuckled. "I see it all. The particles floating around you, clinging to you, couldn't I just have a little taste?"

The Master was advancing on her quickly now and she screamed breaking into a run only to collapse to her knees after a few feet left to stare at the bracelet on her wrist that had the intent to keep her protected. She couldn't move and couldn't resist as the Master put his arms around her body pulling her upwards, taking the moment to stare right into her eyes. "I promise I'll be a lot more fun then the Doctor." He said as he allowed his hand to trail down her cheek, down her arm to finally come to rest of her thigh. She frantically tried to move but was completely motionless; a prisoner within her own body as his fingers continued to graze her body and she found herself weeping internally from sheer revulsion. "And I'm so hungry. You'll share with me, won't you?" His mouth suddenly pressed against hers and she wanted to cry out, to bite his tongue but in her frozen state she was paralyzed as he deepened the kiss, probing her mouth. She began to feel depleted, her very essence was being funneled away as this sordid encounter continued. She managed to moan in the back of her throat.

Finally, he broke away, holding her chin in one hand. "That's my girl." He said. "I was starving but you," He grinned luridly. "will keep me fueled for a lifetime." He leaned in to whisper. "All of yours at least."

Sara heard her name being called out distantly but her exhaustion now gripped her fully and the Master was propping her up against his chest. "Time to find out who you are." He whispered. Her eyes widened as he suddenly put two fingers against both of her temples and she shrieked in agony as he started to penetrate her mind. "So much like home. No wonder the Doctor likes you." He said bypassing her outskirts and forcibly moving deeper into her cognitive processes as the agony started to roll over her body. "There we go. My little Sara. Isn't that sweet. You are a rare gem aren't you. Poor thing, your dimension is all gone now isn't it. My condolences." But then he pushed further and she could hear the drum beats inside his head and his mind beat in tune with hers. She could see dark spots roll in front of her eyes as she started to pray for oblivion as this alien continued his assault, holding her in place while tears of pain slipped from her eyes.

"All these years, they thought I was mad. King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Sara. What is it? What is it? What is it?"

Sara could only moan in agony as the voices began to grow louder. _Doctor…_For the first time she prayed for his help because she knew whatever she was facing was profoundly worse and the blistering pain was beyond any agony she experienced when the Doctor had forced his way into her thoughts. _Please Doctor…_

Suddenly a bright light shined down on them both and paramilitary troops surrounded them. _No! To early. Can't be here. _Somehow blearily in her mind, she knew time was out of sync, events were happening out of order and once again the script was being rewritten.

Instantly she was seized and yanked away from the Master by rough hands as a needle was inserted directly into her neck. She tried to cry out but the drug took a quick hold and she was starting to fade away as she heard the Doctor scream behind her as she was hauled up into the waiting helicopter.

"Don't!"

Guns started to fire in the vicinity as Sara fought to stay conscious and struggle with the hands that were gripping her. She had some range of motion again, the Doctor must of deactivated the bracelet.

"Let her go! Just let her go!" She saw the Doctor make a desperate run for the helicopter but it was too late, they had lifted off the ground and what little grasp of consciousness she had gave way to sudden oblivion.

The Doctor fell to his knees on the ground clutching his head as Wilfred started to run up to him. "What have I done?" He moaned aloud. "How could I let them-" He felt utterly broken inside. The manacles he had adjusted were supposed to ensure Sara's safety but they only rendered her helpless making her an easy target for the Master. He grit his teeth and clenched his fist as he felt the rage of having her taken without the means to even fight back burn viciously inside him. He had to get her back but the events of the past started to flicker through his mind as he remembered the grip the Master had on Sara. He had seen a first hand look of Sara being violated telepathically and he knew full well that he had done the exact same to her.

He felt sick inside but he took a shuddering breath and steeled himself. He needed to exercise control if he was to get her back intact and somehow Wilfred was a key to this puzzle.

"They took your companion?" Wilfred looked astounded as he stared at the sky and the Doctor could only nod. "I'm so sorry Doctor but you'll rescue her. I know you!"

"No you don't." The Doctor said grimly. "Not anymore." He shook his head. "We need to talk." There was nothing more he could find here and Wilfred was his only other clue in tracking down the Master and Sara. He allowed himself to be lead through a series of streets to a fairly innocuous café although he couldn't determine the reason for Wilfred picking this locale.

"Come on then, hurry up. Here we are. Over here" He beckoned to the Doctor. "Come on."

"What's so special about this place?" The Doctor asked frowning. "We passed 15 cafes on the way." Was Wilfred deliberately wasting his time? Maybe he should go back to his TARDIS and conduct further research but he shook himself. Wilfred showed up in his vision with the Oods and for some reason unbeknownst to him, he was critical in locating his ward.

Wilfred shrugged. "Well, yeah, afternoon."

It wasn't much of an answer and the Doctor didn't have time to press him for one as he collapsed at the table feeling utterly defeated.

"We had some good times, didn't we though? I mean, all those ATMOS things, and the planets in the sky and me with a paint gun. I keep seeing things, Doctor. This face at night." Wilfred explained.

"Who are you?' The Doctor demanded. Maybe he was part of a paradox that was inevitably trying to make itself apparent.

"I'm Wilfred Mott."

The Doctor shook his head in frustration. "No. People wait hundreds of years to find me and you manage it in a few hours."

"Well, just lucky I suppose."

"No, we keep on meeting over and over again like something still connecting us."

Wilfred looked perplexed. "What's so important about me?"

"Exactly. Why you?" The Doctor paused continuing in a low voice. "I'm going to die."

Wilfred smiled encouragingly. "Well so am I one day."

"Don't you dare!" The Doctor's tone took such a vehement edge to it that Wilfred nearly jumped back in his chair in alarm.

"Ok, ok. I'll try not to." He said with reassurance and the Doctor's gaze relaxed slightly. For the first time Wilfred was uncertain what precisely had come over the Doctor he had once known. He seemed nearly volatile in his outbursts and readily unpredictable.

"But I was told my song would be ending. That was the prophecy and somehow Sara is involved." He felt grief stricken. "I forced her to come with me to see the Ood and she saw it too."

"Yeah, but I thought, when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body." Wilfred replied. "And you'll get her back. I know you."

"What if they kill her first or use her like I feared?" He thought about it in desperation before glancing back at Wilfred feeling short tempered. "I can still die. If I'm killed before my regeneration, then I'm dead." He sighed thinking of the conversation he had with Sara at dinner. Somehow she had known all along. "Even then, even if I change, if feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away." He did deeply fear his own transition not knowing what was to come when he found out controlling the rules of time allowed for certain things to simply fall from his grasp. He then noticed Wilfred glancing wistfully out the window and the Doctor looked at him perplexed. "What?"

Then he saw Donna and he was angry at himself for letting Wilfred deceive him so readily as he folded his arms across his chest. The last time he had seen Donna, Sara had accompanied him and the transference in memory and led to a near disaster when the Doctor-Donna nearly emerged from her subconscious.

Wilfred was looking at him pleadingly. "I'm sorry but I had to." His face was tightly knit with grief as he stared at his granddaughter. "Look, can't you make her better?"

The Doctor's fury started to bubble to the surface as he clenched a napkin in his fist. He attempted to keep his voice low. "Stop it."

Wilfred seemed adamant. "No, but you're so clever. Can't you bring her memory back?" He gestured towards Donna as she was heading down the sidewalk. "Look, just go to her now." Her persisted. "Go on, just run across the street. Go up and say hello."

The Doctor took a deep breath to steady himself knowing full well what Sara would do if she was here. She would be after Donna before he would even be able to make a remark in edgewise and glancing at his prior companion he was tempted. She had been his best friend and Sara had been right, he didn't incite any memories in her but he knew he simply couldn't take the chance.

"If she remembers me, her mind will burn and she will die." He intoned severely leaving no room for doubt. Wilfred gasped at his directness and put his head down in his hands and the Doctor shook his head. What he had done to Donna was necessary because it was either that or simply acceding to her request and watching her die on the floor of the TARDIS. That would be unacceptable to him, he knew but he remembered Donna pulling back against him, screaming 'no' in protest multiple times as he pushed his way into her mind. _At least she won't remember. _That was a far stretch from what Sara would retain from her encounters as she would recall every single one and he swallowed hard.

Wilfred was talking about Donna and how she was about to get married and that somehow pleased him, that she had found a little bit of happiness despite what he was forced to take from her. It alleviated him to some degree and maybe if got Sara back intact, she would take it as a form of reassurance that Donna would be all right. _Wishful thinking._

"Yeah, what about you? I know you'll get Sara back but at least you weren't alone, traveling with her." Wilfred said encouragingly.

The Doctor felt his hands tremble when Wilfred mentioned his reluctant passenger and he was silent for a moment, scarcely able to breathe as he felt both his hearts pounding in his chest.

"I thought-"He paused contemplating what possible agony Sara was forced to endure at the present moment because he simply wasn't fast enough to get to her. She had sworn not to run but he had remained unyielding and completely unmerciful, which had led her to be taken along with the Master completely helpless. _It's my fault. _He thought despairingly.

He looked at Wilfred. "I thought it would be better too but I did some terrible things." His bottom lip quivered as all the emotions he had tried to suppress came rushing to the surface. "Just awful things to her and it all went wrong. I need-" He took a shaking breath. "She'll never-" Then the pain rose to the surface as he put his head into his hands, feeling tears burn down his face knowing that even if he managed to get Sara back, she would never forgive him for what he did to her. Why would she? He had imprisoned her, blamed Christina and Adelaide's death directly on her causing her to run in terror from him. What kind of man had he become? He couldn't even recognize himself anymore.

His plaintive outburst garnered from Wilfred a look of compassion the Doctor knew he didn't deserve. "Oh, my word." The older man paused. "But you'll make it right."

"I don't know-"

Wilfred's voice was firm. "I know you and you'll find Sara. Make it well with her. She'll forgive you."

The Doctor gave a sigh of doubt coupled with a brief smile. "You know this how?"

"Because it's Christmas and everyone deserves a second chance, especially you."

The Doctor remembered how often he reiterated his stance on one warning, one chance with Sara and he never gave way in trusting her to give another opportunity. If he could resolve himself to get to her in time, steel himself for this upcoming battle maybe they both could somehow earn this second possibility that he never afforded her before. _How could she even possibly forgive me? _He was hardly at the point where he could forgive himself and his control over time seemed to be slipping steadily away from him.

"Merry Christmas." The Doctor said bleakly trying to conceive what his next step would be.

"And you." Wilfred replied.

Something stood out in the corner of his peripheral image and the Doctor turned to look out the window seeing her again, just as she appeared when he woke from the dream that continued to spur and haunt at the edges of his consciousness. _Don't be cowardly. Don't be cruel. _Her gaze at him was resolute and indeed for him it was a sign as their eyes met in shared contact.

Wilfred followed his glance and gasped. "It's her again. You see her too, Doctor?"

"Yes." This confirmed Wilfred's connection by their joint vision of his mercurial past and if it helped lead him on a trail to find Sara and the Master, he had to follow it for something far worse was coming. He knew he had to stand ready.

"We need to go." He told Wilfred and they both got up from their seats as the Doctor walked determinedly back to the TARDIS. In the deep recesses of his mind, he could still hear Sara screaming and what troubled him was that he remained uncertain whether it was only a memory or the very projection passed into his psyche of what she was enduring right now.

**A/N: Thank you to LovelyAmberLight for her help and inspiration. Be sure to look for our crossover, which should be posted in the future. Take note it is AU (Alternate Universe). Thank you to my beta Fan Fictional Authoress who is always patient with my work. Be sure to look for our eventual AU crossover when that is complete.**


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